


Flamethrower

by PeacekeeperAngel



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, baby blaster au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2018-06-07 10:51:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6800722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeacekeeperAngel/pseuds/PeacekeeperAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Not much is known about Sans the Skeleton. He owns a bar in Snowdin. He has a younger brother Named Papyrus. And reccently something’s been raiding his trash for food. Reversing the Roles of the Baby Blaster AU originally created by @spacegate</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

In the middle of Snowdin there's a business everyone goes to. It's a little dirty, a little rough around the edges but for a lack of any other place to socialize, drink and generally have a good time the monsters of Snowdin have come to tolerate, even enjoy the 'Diamond in the rough' look of Sans' Bar and Grill.

If you were to ask people about the Bar's owner, the aforementioned “Sans” you would learn very little.

 

He has a little brother he dotes on, a charming fourteen year old by the name of Papyrus, who often could be seen around the bar helping his older sibling as best as a young teen is able to.

He loves pranks to an unhealthy degree and puns even more so, to the point of a random customer managing to find a whoopee cushion under their seat at one point in their dining experiences.

Little was known about Sans the Skeleton and he preferred it that way. A Bartender keeps his secrets, and what bigger secrets were there in Snowdin than the short eternally grinning proprietor of the only restaurant in town?

 

* * *

 

 

“Brother! Something got into the trash again!”

 

It had been happening for a few weeks now, the Bar's trash bins knocked over and torn open for everything remotely edible. Normally it wouldn't bother Sans, he had a carefully cultivated air of general laziness so what was a few extra bits of scattered trash here and there?

Papyrus on the other hand, had been fighting an ongoing battle against his brother's slap-dash attitude to running his bar, and the fact that something was making a mess out of the trash bins out back was apparently the last straw for Sans' younger sibling.

“You really need to clean up your business! No one will want to come over if it looks like the dump!” Papyrus stood in the middle of the room, a ferocious scowl on his face as he nervously fiddled with the sleeves of his oversized orange sweater.

“I dunno you see a lot of people going to the dump an awful lot.” Sans grinned, leaning against the bar counter to look at his young sibling.

“Not to eat!” Papyrus squawked, earning a snort of laughter from Sans. “Come on Sans you should really clean up the trash before the neighbours complain again.”

“Well as much as I'd love to avoid more nagging from the Snowed Inn lady,” Sans sighed in mock resignation, “I can't get the bar open for the evening rush and take care of the trash at the same time.”

It took everything Sans had not to burst out laughing at the ferocious stink eye Papyrus was giving him. “Seriously, Sans?” he pouted.

“It's true, I'm going to be opening in an hour.” he pointed to the tacky neon-glowing clock that hung over the front door, “And I'm still setting up in here.” this fact was undeniable as Papyrus had arrived while he had been in the middle of stocking fresh bottles of alcohol and drying beer glasses.

A heavy, long suffering sigh came from the young skeleton. “Very well, it seems that The Great Papyrus must save his brother's business once again.” he said resolutely.

“Ah, my hero!” Sans smile somehow grew a little wider as his younger sibling marched for the back room with an air of grim determination. “You're the best Papyrus.”

“Of course I am!” As always Papyrus got the last word in as the swinging door to the kitchen closed behind him.

 

Sans chuckled as he finished drying the last of the beer glasses. As much as Papyrus made a fuss about helping out, he knew fully well that the boy loved assisting the bar in any way that he could.

It was about this time that Sans' cell phone began to sing out from it's resting place in his jacket pocket. Fishing it out he pressed it to his skull. “Sans' Bar and Grill, where everybody knows your name, whether you like it or not.”

It took only a second for Sans' good mood to vanish with the sound of his caller's voice.

 

“....What do you want?”

* * *

 

Papyrus tossed his schoolbag in the tiny break room off of the kitchen. Homework could wait till after he had saved his brother's business from bad publicity and general grossness.

Sans had gone to the Royal Guard but the local unit had so far hadn't even had any success finding the Thing nevermind catching it. What was worse was the fact that other homes and businesses were being raided as well.

The guards were stumped, The citizens were upset! It looked like it was up to The Great Papyrus to solve this mystery and stop the Thing from tormenting Snowdin!

Cleaning up the spilled garbage was easy enough, if a bit aggravating having picked up soiled food wrappers and crushed beer cans for the seventh time in as many days. Papyrus' attention however went to a certain object hidden among the crates and piles of trash.

It had taken a trip to the library and dump respectively, an argument with his co-hunter and best friend Undyne, and convincing Sans to make extra batches of Hot Dogs every night, (a Herculean effort all in itself, to convince his lazy older brother to put extra effort into anything,) but it was a thing of beauty.

A stroke of luck had resulted in a pet carrier being swept into the Dump, which Papyrus had lovingly rescued and cleaned up to within an inch of its life, even going so far as to line the bottom of the carrier with the softest towels he could get a hold of. Then came the genius of his plan.

Using a bit of string, and a plate of Hot Dogs, Papyrus had rigged the door to slam shut when the Thing would try and take away any of the food provided.

It was a brilliant plan! So what if the lock on the carrier's door was broken? Once the thing was captured, it would be somewhere warm and comfy and with better food than garbage, so it wouldn't want to leave anyway!

But just like every other night, when Papyrus stooped to check his carefully maintained trap, he found the Hot Dogs were gone and the door hadn't budged an inch.

_**“NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”**_ Papyrus screeched, stamping one boot-covered foot against the ground. _**“YOU CANNOT ELUDE ME FOREVER THING! I WILL CAPTURE YOU YET!”**_

“Wow, Language there Paps.” Sans said in dry amusement, a plate of freshly cooked hot dogs in one hand. “Where did you learn 'elude'?”

“Mr. Gerson said it means 'to avoid someone on purpose'.” Papyrus pouted, fiddling with the sleeves of his sweater. “Sans? Why is the Thing hiding?”

“Dunno bro.” Sans set the paper plate of hotdogs down on top of the pet carrier. “It's not like there's a magic out there that can read minds.”

“They don't have to hide... I mean everybody in Snowdin is really nice.” Papyrus replied sadly. “There's no reason why the Thing has to dig through everybody's trash and make other monsters upset.”

Sans perpetual smile grew a little softer than normal as he grasped his brother's shoulder. “Is that why you've been so gung-ho about catching this Thing? Because you're worried about them?”

Papyrus nodded, a mixed expression of helpless anger and distress all over his face. “It's cold out in the woods....and eating trash is gross and not good for you.”

 

“It's a good thing you're so _dogged_ to help the Thing then.” 

Papyrus groaned, “Really brother?  _Really?”_

“Hey give me this one, I've been holding it in since I made those things.” Sans chuckled, motioning to the steaming plate of 'dogs. “I'm sure once the Thing feels safe enough, they'll show themselves.” 

“You think so?”

Sans gave the younger skeleton a reassuring squeeze. “Hey would I lie to the coolest bro I have?”

Papyrus gave him a withering stare,  “Sans I'm your only brother.” 

“Not true, there was an audition and everything,” Sans replied jovially, “All the other applicants took one look at you and quit. You gave them all _chills,_ you were so cool _._ ” 

“Saaaaaaaaaans!” Papyrus groaned in dismay, earning a hearty chuckle from the older skeleton.

“Whaaaat?” Sans grinned, “I'm just looking for my right-hand skeleton, we got places to be, bars to open.” 

The two brothers continued to banter  as they returned to the warmth and safety of Sans' business establishment,  forgetting the plate on top of the carrier. 

 

* * *

 

 

Th e bar opened without a hitch, regulars coming in for drinks food and gossip, and to laugh at the rare newcomer who never failed to be amazed as Sans managed to deliver their food or beverage before they were aware of desiring it. 

All the while Papyrus working from behind the scenes, making sure the kitchen was always stocked  and everything was within hands reach for his brother. 

When there was lulls in activity Papyrus would sneak into the break room,  to do his sch oolwork or read or  even fiddle with whatever hand-held puzzle he would always have. 

Later in the evening Sans would take his brother something to eat,  usually it was just whatever was selling the most- something greasy, overly-processed and somewhat bland tasting but Papyrus never complained as much as he wanted to- Sans was a terrible cook and processed burgers fries were easier for him to make than anything from scratch.  The fact th at the brothers hadn't dissolved into a mass of congealed grease and misery was  mostly due to kind neighbours always making too much for themselves. 

 

_“_ _Closing time! Sorry folks, y'don't have to go home but you can't stay here!”_

Papyrus jerked awake in time to hear Sans' ushering of the remaining stragglers.

“Oh no!” He leapt up from the lumpy loveseat that Sans had stuffed in the break room between boxes of dry goods and miscellaneous plastic cutlery and dashed into the kitchen, where to his regret, glasses had been washed, paper plates and french fry boxes had been stacked by the grill and deep fryer respectively, and black garbage bags full of trash piled up by the back door.

Sans had done all of Papyrus' closing chores.

 

“DARN IT SANS WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME?!” Papyrus absolutely hated when Sans did all the work all by himself!

Papyrus' gaze fell on the bags of garbage waiting to be carried to their final destination to the trash bins in the back of the restaurant and felt a small sense of relief.

“Well at least he has the sense not to all the work by himself!” Papyrus said to no one in particular as he walked up to the bags and grabbed a hold of the closest one to his reach. As predicted, the bag of trash was large, heavy and unwieldy, forcing the little skeleton to drag the shiny plastic bag towards the door.

Under normal circumstances, Papyrus would have used his back to push open the door, then using the heavy bag of trash as a door-stop he would have dragged the remaining bags outside, usually finishing his task by the time Sans would finish with the front of the bar.

Tonight however, Fate decided that this plan was not to be.

Just as Papyrus was preparing for the monumental heave necessary for the combined effort of pulling the bag outside, and pushing the door open the flimsy black plastic gave way.

Stumbling backwards with nothing more than a wad of plastic in his boney hands, Papyrus fell into the snowy outdoors before was even aware that the bag had torn.

Safe to say he never realized the ice patch was there until his head collided with it.

 

For a second Papyrus saw stars dance across his eye sockets as his mind sought to overcome the disorienting pain he was currently experiencing.

 

“ _Owieeeeee..._.” He whimpered, forcing the tears back. “Heroes don't cry darn it Papyrus!”

He really had to stop that habit of talking out loud to himself.

 

Papyrus remained still as his brother had taught him to do after a bad fall. After a moment he wiggled his fingers in the cold snow and wiggled his toes in his red rubber galoshes. Everything felt fine as far as he was aware, all that was left to do was open his eyes and stand up.

Feeling the painful stars fade he carefully opened a single eye socket... then opened the other in shock.

 

Standing over him was...well a child made of fire. They had arms and legs and a head just like Papyrus, but every inch of them was bright orange-yellow flames, with a hint of red here and there. Even the child's hair was made of fire, curling up into the night like the wick of a candle.

White eyes looked into Papyrus' black eye sockets with confusion and alarm.

 

“Oh! Hello!” Papyrus said cheerfully, sitting up slowly and trying not to wince. “Sorry about that, I must have scared you a little huh?”

Papyrus turned to face the other child, only to find that they had backed away from him, clutching something tightly to their chest.

“Are you okay?” Papyrus asked, tilting his head slightly.

The other child said nothing, remaining stock still, only their fiery hair dancing in the still night air. They stared at Papyrus like they expected him to sprout a second head.

“Oh!” an idea had struck the little skeleton. “Pardon me, I didn't introduce myself! Nyeh heh heh!” Papyrus stood up, standing almost a head taller than the child as he dusted the snow from his pants.

“My name's Papyrus! What's yours friend?”

 

The child said nothing, continuing to stare at Papyrus like they expected something dangerous or weird to happen. It was during this brief moment that Papyrus noticed that the fire child was clad in little more than an oversized T-shirt, their ember-like feet sticking out from under the hem.

“Wowie! What are you doing out here without any shoes?” Papyrus blurted out his thoughts once more. “Aren't you cold?”

 

“....ys.”

Papyrus blinked. Had the fire child just spoken? It was impossible to tell, the child didn't have a mouth from what Papyrus could see, just a pair of white eyes and a tiny upturned nose.

“Excuse me? Sorry didn't quite catch that.” Papyrus said.

“...Yes...I'm cold.” it was barely more than a whisper, but the voice was clearly masculine, just like Papyrus' own, though much younger-sounding. Perhaps the child was younger than the skeleton?

“Well gosh! You shouldn't be out in the snow in bare feet!” Papyrus exclaimed, “You could catch a bad cold!” the fire child flinched but said nothing.

“Don't worry friend! I, The Great Papyrus will help you in your troubles!” he began to walk towards the child, hand extended. “Come on! Sans will know where to find some good replacement shoes!”

This action however was the exact _wrong_ thing to do as the fire child held up a hand. “No! Stay _back!”_ a gout of flame shot from  the extended palm. 

 

_“YIKES!”_ Papyrus threw himself on the snow, the flames soaring over him and striking the wall of the building, leaving a large scorch mark against the bricks.

“Hey!” the young skeleton yelped indignantly as he scrambled back onto his feet. “Be careful with that! You nearly roasted my brother's business, nevermind my brother's brother!”

It was then when Papyrus noticed an object had fallen into the snow from the fire child's hands. It was half-eaten and slightly charred but it was most certainly a brown oblong seed pod that Papyrus was all-too familiar with.

“A Hot Dog?” Papyrus looked up into the terrified eyes of the fire child in amazement, “You're the Thing?”

 

The back door slammed open, revealing a panicked-looking Sans' his one eye glowing a bright blue.

“Papyrus?!” Sans shouted, fear clear in his voice.

“It's okay Sans!” Papyrus called back, flashing his brother a reassuring grin, “I'm just talking to my new friend-”

When the skeleton turned to face the fire child again, he didn't face a small boy made of fire and clad in an oversized T-shirt. Instead he faced a large cat, almost the size of a large dog, with large tufted ears and a fluffy tail of fire.

“WOWIE!” the youngster gasped in awe.

 

_PING!_

 

Papyrus felt a tugging on his soul as Sans pulled him back towards him using his blue magic.

“Ack! Sans!” Papyrus' cries remained unheeded as the older skeleton grabbed his younger sibling shoving the teenager behind him.

It was essentially an empty gesture, the fire cat was already running headlong into the woods, leaving his half-eaten meal smouldering in the snow.

 

“Now why did you have to go and do that?!” Papyrus said indignantly, “You scared my friend!”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Great Hero Papyrus seeks advice from his fellow Hero, Undyne the Undying and manages to get into trouble, or as Sans would call it: A typical Saturday. Continuing to Twist the Roles of the Baby Blaster AU made by @Spacegate on Tumblr.

Papyrus didn't see the kid after that night. He continued to leave food out for the child, more in fact now that he knew what was actually raiding their trashcans, and even managed to find some old blankets to add to the pet carrier, which was now more of a supply-depot for the mysterious boy of fire.

 Much to Papyrus' dismay, it was all left untouched. Worse yet, no one had a raided trashcan around Snowdin since the night Papyrus and Sans had encountered the fire child.

 “Sans what do we do?” Papyrus asked on the third day, nearly spending the entire evening at the restaurant hiding in a homemade duck-blind of empty boxes and trash bags. “What if the child is hurt or worse?”

 “I don't think it's as bad as your imagining it Paps,” Sans replied calmly, “The kid probably got scared and moved on, Probably went back to Hotland where all Fire Elementals live.”

 Papyrus was ready to believe his brother's statement to be true, after all Sans had no reason to lie to Papyrus about anything.... but every now an again, always when he was alone, the young skeleton would get an odd feeling running down his spine.

 Papyrus had the sneaking suspicion that the Fire Child hadn't moved on as his brother had suggested.

 

* * *

 

 

It was about a week of untouched plates and creepy feelings later when Papyrus' patience wore out. It seemed that Sans wasn't going to be any help so it was time to seek aid from a trusted ally.

 “Dude you're being _stalked?!_ ” Undyne bellowed, forcing Papyrus to pull his phone away from his head “I'll freaking kill them!”

 “Nooo! Don't kill anybody!” Papyrus replied, returning the phone to the side of his skull, “They-He, doesn't mean any ill intent I'm sure!”

 Undyne grumbled crossly, “Papyrus this kid...Cat... Whatever the heck he was! His first reaction to you helping him was a _fireball_. How can you be so sure this kid is a good guy?”

 Papyrus curled his legs tighter as he sat in his race car bed. “You weren't there when I first saw him Undyne. He...” for the first time in his life, Papyrus had to pause to search for the right words. “He looked at me so _strangely_ Undyne, like he was expecting me to do something that he didn't want to happen. It was just so weird and wrong and-”

 “Alright, alright, calm down ya nerd.” Undyne cut him off. “freaking out isn't going solve this. Have you told your brother about the weird feelings?”

 “Yes! He said not to worry about it,” Papyrus cried, “But I can't help but worry all the same.”

 “Fuhuhuhu! I got the best cure for worrying!” the young skeleton could almost hear Undyne's ferocious grin over the phone. “We're going to go find that fire kid!”

 “What?! Undyne that's crazy!” Papyrus protested, “We're just two kids how are we going to find a fire elemental in the middle of the woods?!”

 “I have no idea!” Undyne replied cheerfully, “But it's better than sitting at home worrying!” the sound of something dropping, made it's way through the receiver. “The Royal Guard's taking too long, and lives are on the line! It's up to us to fix things!”

 Papyrus grinned feeling a little better about the situation now that finally, someone else was saying what he wanted to say. “Nyeheheheh, it's up to Undyne the Undying and The Great Papyrus huh?”

 “Exactly! We just gotta-” the sound of someone knocking on the door to his bedroom nearly scared would have scared Papyrus out of his skin if he had any.

 “Oh jeez! SorryUndynegottagoMeetyouin _SnowdintomorrowattheRiverperson!_ ” Papyrus hung up before he could get his friend's response, stuffing the cellphone under this pillow just as Sans entered the room.

 

 “Hey bro, you okay?” Sans asked, “I heard you moving around in here.”

 “I'm fine Sans.” Papyrus said, laying down in bed, “Just...having troubles getting comfortable.”

 Sans grimaced, the closest he could get to an actual frown without moving his mouth. “Need me to get you anything?” he asked carefully.

 “No, I'll be alright brother, Just found the right spot.” Papyrus wriggled a little deeper under the covers just to prove his point.

 Sans on the other hand didn't look too convinced, but apparently decided not to press the subject further. “Okay bro, if you say so. I gotta late meeting so I'm going to be out for most of the night.”

 “Oh!” Papyrus sat up in bed, “Are you going to see Dad?” he immediately regretted asking as Sans flinched.

 “Ah...No sorry Paps. Just taking care of some stuff for the bar.” the pudgy skeleton turns to leave, “Get some sleep alright?”

 “Alright...” Papyrus lay back down again. “I have my cellphone if you need me for anything.”

 “G'night Paps.” Sans replied as he shut the bedroom door.

 

* * *

 

Papyrus began the day early, by emptying his backpack of useless school supplies for things he would need for his rescue mission.

 Clothes were unfortunately a loss, Papyrus was certain neither he nor Sans were the proper size for the Fire Child. A few wool blankets from the linen closet would have to do. Food consisted of a bag of forgotten Cinnamon Bunnies Sans bought a week ago along with a few Crab Apples. A little gross but neither of them had done the week's shopping yet so yet again Papyrus would have to make do.

Lastly, as an afterthought Papyrus raided the medicine cabinet for a few bandages. Most likely they would be un-needed but it was better safe than sorry. A quick phone call later and Papyrus was bolting out into the silent foggy morning to meet with his partner in justice.

 

* * *

 

 

 “Come again sometime, Tra La La~”

 Undyne leapt onto the riverbank with a tired grumble, hoisting her backpack a little higher on her shoulders. Papyrus' semi-insufferable enthusiasm aside it made sense to begin the search in the early morning, when the mysterious child would be most likely either returning to his hiding place or sleeping.

 But Papyrus was going to owe her _big_ for this. She hated getting up this early!

 “Undyyyyyne!” the trumpeting call of her name was heralded by the appearance of the aforementioned gangly skeleton running towards her in the early morning mist.

 “About time you showed up punk!” Undyne called back with a toothy grin, “You all set to be awesome heroes?”

 “Nyeheheheh, of course!” Papyrus adjusted the straps of his overstuffed backpack. “Did your dad offer any advice?” he asked as they began to walk towards the woods.

“No!”

 “Oh, but why-”

 “Cause I didn't ask that's why!” Undyne snapped, “Anyway Dad's been busy with Royal Guard junk. Even if I did ask he'd probably be too busy messing with paperwork n' crap to be any help.” she shrugged. “Anyway I brought some leftover spaghetti, we can have it for lunch!”

 Papyrus tilted his head curiously, “What's spaghetti?”

 Undyne stumbled. “Damn, you seriously don't know what spaghetti is Papyrus? I know Sans is a lazy cook but jeez!”

 “Sans tries his best!” Papyrus protested, pausing so he wouldn't get too far ahead of Undyne. “Cooking is a lot of work and he gets tired after coming home from the restaurant.”

 “Eh, fair enough. If stayed up all night looking after drunk grownups I wouldn't wanna do much after either.” Undyne shrugged as they both passed the “Welcome” sign of Snowdin. “Speaking of Sans, I'm surprised he didn't try to stop you from doing this.”

 “The Great Papyrus does not need his brother's permission to enact feats of heroism!” Papyrus replied loftily as they crossed the long wooden bridge outside of town. “Nyeh heh... Sans has been going to a lot of late night meetings. It's been tiring him out more than usual so I let him sleep in.”

 “Whoa gutsy move there punk!” Undyne chuffed in amusement as they reached the other side. “Though you do realize he's gonna freak out when he realizes you're not at home.”

 “I left a note!”

 “Fuhuhuhuhu, you think that'll stop him from freaking?” Undyne grinned mercilessly

 “W-Well...” Papyrus stammered, looking somewhat uneasy, “Great heroes often have to make personal sacrifices for the greater good, correct?”

 “Absolutely!” Undyne chuckled deviously, not quite done giving her friend a hard time, “I'll come and visit you when you're grounded.”

 “That doesn't help Undyne! Nyoo hoo hoo!” Papyrus wailed.

 

* * *

 

 

 A bloodcurdling howl stopped the two friends dead in their tracks in the middle of the Snowdin forest.

 “Hey Boss' Brat!” a voice called out from the mists, “Shouldn't you be in Waterfall lookin' for daddy's approval?”

 Undyne scowled darkly, “How about instead of hiding like a chicken,” she bellowed back into the fog, “You come out and say hi like a proper monster Doggo!”

 two canine monsters came through the mist, one wearing a tank top and trousers that clashed obnoxiously with his creamy white and dark brown fur, the other a pure white dog with a bright doggy smile in a blue sweatshirt and jeans.

 “Undyne...!” Papyrus could see where this was going. Lesser Dog was a respectable creature, but Doggo and Undyne had an ongoing unfriendly rivalry that had only grown worse since the older Doggo had begun training to join the Royal Guard.

 “Don't worry Papyrus I got this.” Undyne replied keeping her eye on Doggo as she shucked off her backpack. “Just watch my stuff okay?” she shoved her own backpack into the skeleton's hands before he had a chance to protest.

 “You two should go back to Snowdin,” Doggo proclaimed smugly, “Snowdin forest is way too dangerous for a couple of kids.”

 “You're one to talk! You're just a year older than us!” Undyne snorted in response, striding towards the young dog monster.

 Doggo scowled, “We're trainees for the Royal Guard, we're going to be taking up posts here one day.” he stated proudly, “You're just a hothead trying to grandstand for half the underground!”

 

 

* * *

 

Papyrus gave Lesser Dog a pained look. Doggo was keen to prove how much of an “alpha” he was by getting Undyne to back down, and Undyne wasn't going to put up with empty grandstanding. What was worse was neither was going to back down until it came to blows. (which usually ended with Doggo getting suplexed by Undyne).

 Lesser Dog responded to Papyrus agonized glance with a bewildered look of his own. It seemed that if either of them wanted to get anything done today with their friends, Papyrus and Lesser Dog were going to have to wait for Undyne and Doggo to finish their pseudo-rivalry shenanigans.

 “Blind idiot!”

 “Homicidal Maniac!”

 A flicker of orange out of the corner of his eye socket pulled Papyrus' gaze away from the shouting match in front of him to a small thicket of cedar a fair distance away. The young skeleton felt his SOUL jump into his mouth when he recognized the distant form of the fire-child. Moreso Papyrus was certain the child was staring right at _him._

There was no time to lose. Papyrus sprinted towards the child, not even bothering to drop the extra weight in his hands, or explain what was going on to the other three teenagers. Undyne might have screeched something at him but he wasn't really paying attention. He had to get to the child before it was too late!

 “Hey wait!” just as he had suspected the child had turned to run deeper into the woods.

 “Not this time...” Papyrus hissed through gritted teeth, he was too determined to help to let the child run again. He pushed everything he had into keeping up with the small child, who managed to race ahead of the gangly skeleton teen, even without shifting into his four-legged form. It was only thanks to the child being a natural source of light that Papyrus hadn't lost the child between the trees.

 “Hold on!” Papyrus shouted after the fire-child, “I want to help you!”

 The child looked over his shoulder and just ran harder, the sharp hiss of melting snow causing Papyrus to wince in sympathetic pain. How the child hadn't been reduced to dust just by walking in the snow was both amazing and terrifying.

 “I know the snow hurts you!” the child ducked under a low-hanging branch, bending it backwards just enough to spray it's snowy contents in Papyrus' face, forcing the skeleton to halt pursuit and dig ice particles from his nose hole and eye sockets.

 “If you must run, then please do so where it's _drier!”_ Papyrus wheezed, using one of the sleeves of his sweater to mop the melting snow from his face.

“Ugh water up my noise!” he grunted as his vision cleared. Sure enough the light of the child was no where to be seen. All that was around him was fog, and various breeds of coniferous trees.

 “Wonderful...” Papyrus sighed in disgust. “Maybe I should have waited for Undyne after all.” At least he could find his way back easily enough, All he had to do was turn around and follow his own tracks in the snow back to the main road.

 Papyrus turned and felt his SOUL sink into his boots. “Oh dear.”

 

 The snow all around him was littered in the haphazard tracks of one teenage skeleton and the half-melted tracks of one juvenile flame elemental. Papyrus would have had better luck finding Bob in a Temmie pile before he could find his way back again.

 

 

“Sans is going to kill me for this...”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is panicking especially a lost skeleton who just found his missing Flame Child.

“SANS!”

 

The ratty old wreath of plastic holly bounced as Undyne slammed her fists against the front door of the skeleton brother's house. “Sans open up you lazy jerk!”

“Why are we even here?!” Doggo whimpered, standing far out in the snow, away from the front porch. “We should be reporting this to the Royal Guard!”

Undyne glared venomously at the dog monster, “You're just a coward Doggo! You wanna report to the guard first so you don't have to tell Sans we lost his brother!” 

Doggo's ears drooped, “Can you blame me?! Sans is super creepy!”  Lesser Dog quietly whimpered his agreement,  standing much closer to the porch than Doggo but still giving the door a cautious stare, like he expected a human to jump out of the house at any given moment . “ He knows all this weird stuff about everybody!” 

“That's because he's a bartender, you chicken-hound!” Undyne snapped, “That's part of the job!” Undyne returned to pounding on the door, “Dammit, Papyrus said he's sleeping in today! He should be home!” 

_“_ _Undyne!”_ the fish girl turned on a dime to face her rival. 

“What now Doggo?!” Undyne bellowed in time to see flakes of snow fall.

“It's too late.... The storm's already begun.” the wind began to pick up with that ominous declaration pelting the trio with more ice chunks raining down from the cavern ceiling.

Undyne sighed, which in her frustration, sounded more like a snarl, before jumping off the porch into the snow with the dog monsters.

“Come on guys. Let's go get the Guard.”

 

Most people assumed Skeletons were immune to the cold... this was somewhat true, to a degree. With not much bodily “fluids” as most monsters a skeleton didn't feel a lower temperature as quickly in a dry cold.

In a wet cold, such as a heavy snowfall however, it was a different story. Snow would fall, melt and re-freeze, making everything feel not only colder, but heavier and even painful, if water got into joints or small cracks or nicks in the bones.

So it was easy to say that Papyrus was not happy when the snow began to fall just as he was beginning his search for the main road.

“Oh drat!” Papyrus cursed looking up at the descending ice pellets. “Why is it only in Snowdin do we get any weather?!”

The forest didn't offer any answer, only bearing silent witness to the teenager slog through the deepening snow, trying in vain to shield himself with one of two backpacks in his possession.

“I hope that kid found somewhere dry to hide from this weather....” Papyrus had looked for the Fire Child but, like every time before, the child had vanished into the woods without a trace. It would be impressive, if it wasn't so incredibly frustrating.

“Being a hero is a lot harder than I thought it would be.” Papyrus muttered, holding Undyne's backpack close in the futile attempt to block snow from blowing into his eye sockets and nasal cavity. “The human in the red cape made it look a lot easier-!”

The teen's thoughts were interrupted as he tripped over a half-buried tree root in the snow, sending him face first into a snowdrift. “Ack! Phhht! Not again!” he pawed at his face with the sleeves of his sweater, ultimately a futile gesture since his sleeves were half-soaked with meting snow anyway.

“Nyeeeeeeeeeeh! I wanna go home! This stinks!” Papyrus wailed, sitting in the snow, “Sans! Dad! Undyne! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!” the forest offered nothing but a fresh gust of wind, biting deep into his bones.

“Ugh!” the teen shivered, sending a rattle down his back. “This is pathetic. The Great Papyrus bungling up such an important mission.” Papyrus pulled himself back onto his feet, brushing the snow from his jeans. “The Great Papyrus is no hero if he is unable to save himself from misfortune.”

When he was a child, Papyrus had once been asked to describe the sensation of channelling magic. It was hard to put into words, but he eventually settled on “Flow” but even then it was a poor description. Even has he separated a small portion of the energy that sustained his existence the sensation in his bones did remind him of the river that flowed through Snowdin as it travelled throughout his body.

But when that energy reached his hands the sensation changed. Less like flowing water and instead something moldable, like dough or clay, which was appropriate as he shaped the magic in his hands into something bright blue and bone-shaped.

Within seconds a bright blue femur the length of a school ruler popped into existence in his right hand, the bright blue light cutting into the snow-riddled mists, leaving an eerie glow in its wake.

“Nyeh heh! Excellent, no more tripping with this!” Papyrus chuckled twirling the bone in one hand and holding onto Undyne's backpack with the other. The light of Papyrus' bone attack wasn't perfect, but it was enough that he could see where he was going.

“Now, where should I go...?” Papyrus held the bone high, but the light only managed to cut the fog a few meters before turning back into a silken, snowy wall. Every direction looked almost exactly alike, with large pine trees and heavy snow and fog.

Except one of the trees looked very odd. This one was thin, twisted and without branches, twisting off into the mists instead of standing tall, straight and bushy like all the other trees. “How odd....” With little more than curiosity driving him, Papyrus began to follow the twisting tree, maybe to find the actual top of it.

He never found the top, it grew bigger and thicker, and connected to other similar looking trees. Eventually the other normal trees fell away leaving the skeleton alone in the mist with only a large lump of wood, nearly as tall as Sans' bar.

“WOWIE!” Papyrus gasped, reaching the end of his journey.

The “tree” hadn't been a tree at all.

It was a _root_ or rather the little tiny part of a root that connected to the bigger parts which connected to a _tree_. A tree so large that Papyrus couldn't see the branches of it through the snow and fog.  The root system had managed to form a “cavern” out of the base of the tree. 

“It seems The Great Papyrus has made an equally great discovery!” another gust of wind blowing through his soaked sweater reminded Papyrus of his situation.  He ran for the cave entrance like a monster possessed, caring only to get out of the wind and wet. 

 

The cave was dark. And not just the dark every monster was used to, punctuated only by glowing fungus or moss or magically charged crystal.  It was completely pitch black _dark_. If it hadn't been for Papyrus' glowing blue bone he wouldn't have been able to see at all. 

Not that there was much to see. The cave was large enough that the walls vanished into the darkness once Papyrus was past the entrance. The floor was softly packed soil, the colour of which was impossible to determine under the light of his bone attack.

While the wind howled and the snow fell outside, it was completely silent inside the cave, to a degree that Papyrus found mildly unsettling. He would have normally chattered away to himself to try and calm his nerves, but here it felt...rude.

That is until he ran into something very hard.

“OW!” he squawked, then jumped as several crystals lit up, flooding the room with a vibrant orange-yellow light.

“Ugh. Voice activated I suppose...” Papyrus grumbled, rubbing the unease away from his bones as he dismissed his bone attack. “I remember Father's lab had a few of those.”

It turned out that what Papyrus had run into was one of the roots, but unlike the others, parts of the bark had been stripped away and a message had been carefully burned into the wood.

“In the beginning, there was Nothing....” Papyrus found himself compelled to read the message, “No light. No life. The Humans had sealed all Monster kind in a barren wasteland from which no food could be found.”

The message ended on that root, but a quick search revealed the story continuing on another not too far from the first. “The Boss Monsters, despite all their magic, could do nothing. The monsters despaired. It seemed that the survivors of the Human Monster War were going to starve to death in the endless dark.”

A third search continued the story, “Until the Elementals stepped in. The  gaurdians of Earth, Air, Water and Fire gathered in secret and discussed the dire situation. They talked and talked, but Air was frightened and trapped underground, away from the sky they loved. Water could summon spouts of clean water for monsters but it didn't stop bellies from growling with hunger. And Fire could only offer so much light without anything to fuel their strength. All seemed lost.” 

Papyrus scowled. He didn't like this story. It was even more depressing than the story about the War of Humans and Monsters found on the plates in Waterfall. Still he felt a tug to continue reading the messages, if only so his voice would keep the golden light going.

He quickly found the next message, “It was then the Earth Elemental s decided to implement their plan. They left monster kind and wandered deep into the Underground. Alone in the coldest reaches of the darkness they poured their entire beings into the Underground itself, using the magic that gave them life and form to bring life and light into...the....dark....”

Papyrus sniffled. An entire  _ race _ of monsters sacrificed themselves to ensure monsters could survive? “I think I must convince Sans to be thankful for his vegetable soup when I get home.” he squeaked to himself as he wiped away the brimming tears. 

It was then when he saw them.

In the center of the cave was a single root, larger than all the rest sprouting from the head of what looked to be a human male made of rock. He held out his hands to two other vaguely human shaped statues, one female-shaped an endless tornado in one hand, as if offering it to the Tree-male in the hopes of saving him from some terrible fate.

The other was another male-shaped statue, this one having water running from his eyes as he grazed his fingers with the Tree-Man. The water that ran pooled around the three figures and seemed to feed the roots of the Tree-Man.

“ Wowie ! This place must be made in honour of the Earth Elementals!” Papyrus concluded looking around the room. “But I wonder where-?!” 

Papyrus slapped his boney hands over his mouth. The last statue stood behind him, a tall female human-shaped statue, looking mournfully on the three other statues from a distance, like she wanted to help but knew the futility of the gesture, a small hollow had been made in her chest where a candle-sized flame glowed cheerfully.

The big surprise however was the cat-shaped fire elemental rapped around the statue's feet!

_ Oh my goodness! Oh gosh oh golly!”  _ Papyrus dared not speak a word, lest the young fire elemental awaken and run off again...most likely to his death in the weather outside. 

Come to think of it why hadn't he run away when Papyrus stomped in here? This kid was so skiddish he should have run off the minute the lights had come on!

He would have to risk it. Dropping Undyne's Backpack were he stood, Papyrus crept, as softly and as slowly as he could towards the still form of the fire-cat  until...ever so gently he gazed his hand across the cat's fur. 

It wasn't cold... but Papyrus had been expecting much more heat than that from a Fire Elemental.

It was something Sans told him never to do outside of with him. But Papyrus decided to CHECK the child's stats.

He nearly screamed when he saw how low the child's HP was.

_ Oh no! What do I do?!?!  _ with only a half-formed plan in mind, Papyrus threw off his backpack and pulled out one of the blankets he had brought with him. The cat made no motion as Papyrus bundled him up carefully. 

Braving the snow again, making sure he could find his way back to the cave, Papyrus soon had armfuls of pinewood set up beside the little fire monster.

“Fire Monsters like fire, I'm sure you'll feel better with lots of fire! Nyeeeeeeeh!”  He didn't know if what he was doing was any help at all, but it made Papyrus feel useful and helpful. 

Not for the last time did Papyrus wish that his older brother was around to help.

“Please excuse me!” Papyrus leaned up carefully to light a twig off of the tiny fire in the Statue's chest, but it was enough that only moments later, a proper roaring fire began in earnest.

Papyrus sat down and wheezed. There was nothing more he could do for the child except pray that the fire at least offered some comfort. The fire cat had done nothing the entire time except shift ever-so-slightly  when Papyrus had wrapped him in the blanket. A few minutes under the heat of the fire and the blanket however were enough to allow the fire-cat to begin breathing  evenly and calmly.

“ Fire Elementals breathe....”  He sighed feeling a tiny bit of relief. “Go figure.”

“I hope you survive friend.” Papyrus said to the fire-cat. “I don't know what happened to make you so frightened but, I The Great Papyrus promise that  there is nothing in the world worth fearing!” the panicked feeling in his bones began to drain, replaced by heavy weariness. 

“There are a lot of things that are terrible yes, but at the same time there is so much  _ good _ in the Underground too! So much to appreciate.” Papyrus felt a yawn escape his jaws. “I want to show you there's nothing to fear little Fire Monster.  Whatever darkness that's making you afraid, the Great Hero Papyrus will always be here to protect you from it!” 

Papyrus curled up, hugging his knees to his ribcage. “I wanna introduce you to my fellow Hero, the Great Undyne. She's strong and tough and knows all sorts of clever things. Oh and my brother Sans...He's really cool and... works really hard, even though he wants everyone to think he's a lazy bum....” Papyrus' head nodded, the fire warming his bones  very nicely, making him feel fuzzy-headed and sleepy. 

“Oh.. and you need to meet the Nice bunny lady who runs the store in Snowdin... and Lesser Dog he's really brave and nice and...maybe... D....”

 

A heavy snore came from the skeleton, finally asleep after all his labours, sitting in a curled up ball.

 

It was nearly an hour later that the Fire cat opened a solid-white eye.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which We see Papyrus' musical skills, and Sans Scares the HP out of a Tiny Fire.

He hadn't been completely asleep when the Skeleton arrived. Merely dozing, recovering his strength after walking through the Cold Wet Stuff that covered the landscape outside the cave.

His feet still stung a little. But he had dealt with worse....he would cope. He would always cope.

He sat up, shifting back into his bipedal form to stare at the strange Monster curled up in a ball before him, snoring peacefully into his bony arms. Wearing an orange and red striped sweater, a pair of blue slacks and bright red boots, almost every inch of him was sopping wet from the falling Cold Wet Stuff outside.

And yet the “Not-White” monster had given him the blanket instead of keeping it for himself. Maybe the price would come when he awoke, but the child wasn't keen to wait and find out.

The fire child pulled his attention away from the sleeping teenager and back towards the healthy fire that lit up the room in absence of the voice-activated magic lanterns. This was an opportunity that was too good to miss.

 

With a wince he slipped his ember-black feet out from under the scratchy wool blanket, watching as strips of his fiery skin peeled away and dissolved into dusty ash, leaving red, molten flesh underneath. His feet throbbed in the open cold air, but at last there was relief in sight.

He stuffed his feet into the fire, biting back the urge to sigh in satisfaction as the flames burned away the blackness and regenerated the boy's diminished limbs until they burned with the same orange-red heat as the rest of his body.

“Mmmrph...Nyeh.” the fire child jolted, staring in horror at the teenage skeleton shifted in his sleep. He didn't move, and for a full minute he didn't even dare breathe. 

“Nyeh... that's not good. I fell asleep.” Papyrus muttered, pawing at his face. “Gotta help Sans close up the restaurant....”

 

Papyrus, half-awake. stared up at the Fire Child with dozy half-awareness

The Fire Child, wrapped in the wooly blanket, stared down at Papyrus in wide-eyed shock.

 

 

“NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

 

The lights came on the instant Papyrus shrieked in surprise, which in turn resulted in a half blind Fire Child stumbling, tripping and ultimately falling backwards until he half crawled, half skittered behind the Statue Papyrus had originally found him by.

“Goodness! You shouldn't stick your feet in fire!” Papyrus wheezed, standing on his hands and knees like a misshapen greyhound. “You'll burn yourself-wait no you're already fire, that doesn't make any sense....”

The fire child didn't reply, only staring with that wide-eyed expression fearful expression that made the skeleton's non-existent stomach twist uncomfortably.

“Ah...I'm sorry about yelling like that.” Papyrus began sheepishly, settling into a cross-legged sitting position in front of the bonfire. “I was surprised there for a minute.”

the child simply stared, clinging to the statue's legs like a drowning monster clinging to driftwood. For the first time in his young life Papyrus found himself at a loss for words.

 

“Erm... I don't think I properly introduced myself last time we met.” the skeleton stated, “I am the Hero of Snowdin, the Great Papyrus!” he began to stand to strike an appropriately heroic pose, but halted midway when he saw the child shrink back further.

“Oh...Oh dear.” Papyrus sank back down. “Sorry again. It is the Great Papyrus' desire to bring joy and happiness to his fellow monsters not...” He couldn't finish his thought. It was too dreadful to consider.

Papyrus ignored the uncomfortable chill creeping into arms as he sat and thought. It seemed that this rescue was going to require careful thought, instead of brave daring-do like he had originally surmised. It didn't bother him in the slightest, for the Great Papyrus was the best Puzzle-solver in all of Snowdin!

 

But a young child wasn't like the puzzle-blocks that Papyrus fiddled with in the back room of Sans' restaurant. One wrong step and the child would run, most likely back into the snowstorm that he could hear still-raging outside, and that would be Game Over. No resets.

But he hadn't run while Papyrus was asleep, and he only seemed to react badly when Papyrus tried to be loud and friendly or move around. Maybe....

“Tiny Fire Elemental,” The fire child blinked as he stood up, clinging to the legs of the statue, “The Great Papyrus has noticed your distress in his efforts to show his true heroic nature.” he carefully adjusted himself to a comfortable cross-legged position. “In order to prove the Great Papyrus' trustworthiness, I will now submit myself to interrogation! Ask any question you please, tiny elemental! The Great Papyrus will answer them all!”

 

Papyrus stared at the boy, trying to project thoughts of peace and kindness to the child.

The fire child stared back with huge, unblinking white eyes.

 

This staring contest went on for five minutes before Papyrus' patience finally gave out.

“ _OH COME ON!”_ He squawked, his eye sockets bulging in dismay, only to regret it as the child ducked behind the statue in fright.

 

“Nyeeeeeeh....” Papyrus cursed, rubbing his eyes in a vain attempt to banish the exhaustion that clung to his bones. “This isn't working at all!” what was worse was he didn't feel completely rested, the adrenaline from his surprising wake up call was beginning to wear off leaving a heavy exhaustion that made it hard to sit up comfortably.

And darn it, why was everything so darn _cold?_ He was beginning to regret not getting extra firewood, but now he was far too tired to try to go out for more. As uncomfortable as he was, he would have to tolerate the chill until the storm, that roared outside their tiny cavern subsided a bit.

 

 

An odd sound pulled Papyrus from his musings. He looked up at the child, who was trying very hard to keep an eye on him, as well as casting a longing glance at the two backpacks at Papyrus' side.

“Are you hungry Tiny Flame?” Papyrus asked, tilting his head so he could get a better look at the cowering fire child. When no response came the skeleton simply went ahead and pulled his backpack close to extract the bag of Cinnamon Bunnies.

“I've got lots to share...” he paused. “They're a bit stale, but they're still pretty good.” to emphasize this fact he pulled out a bun and bit into it with as much enthusiasm has he could muster...which wasn't terribly much. As delicious as the cinnamon buns normally were, he had been eating them every day, for the past week or so. It was worse when they were stale enough to turn into sandy crumbs the minute a bite was taken.

He twisted his grimace into something that might have resembled a satisfied smile...on a Human with epic gastrointestinal distress. “It's delicious! Come help yourself!” he held the bag wide open for the child.

 

Beyond staring at the bag of stale cinnamon bunnies like it was the last bag of food in all the underground the child did not move an inch from the statue, his death grip on the statue's legs unwavering.

Papyrus sighed. “I normally pride myself on hospitality, but you really need to throw me a bone here.” he realized the accidental pun and groaned, “Ugh, I must be tired, I'm punning like Sans.”

 

With little more than a desire for the child to _eat something_ so that he could put his mind at ease, Papyrus tossed the bag near the fire, which marked the halfway between the two monsters. “Do you remember Sans? He was the other skeleton with me that night we met.” this time he didn't wait for a response, “He was so sure you had gone back to Hotland, but I knew better.”

Papyrus adjusted his seat to take some weight off of his tailbone. “No one starts eating out of the garbage because they like the taste... or maybe they do? There are some pretty weird monsters out there.” his hipbone and femur were beginning to hurt now, why was it so hard to find a comfortable sitting position?! “Anyway even if you do like eating garbage, I promise there's a lot nicer things to eat out in the world.” Papyrus paused, grimacing slightly. “The Great Papyrus should have worn comfier pants. Hey do you mind if I just...lie down a little bit?”

 

Much to the skeleton's delight he was rewarded with an ever-so-slight nod of approval from the fire child. “Great! Thanks a lot!” he slid onto his side, using his arm to cushion his head. “Brr! It's really cold today.” Papyrus shivered slightly but he felt a lot better now that he was lying down. “It must really be no fun for you, I mean no shoes or a nice sweater or anything like that. Once the storm passes we really need to find you some nicer clothes, I mean only Snowdrakes can run around in the cold with no pants!”

 

Papyrus sighed, while it was nice to have someone to talk to, or at the very least _talk at_ he was awfully bored. And tired. And-

-Well nevermind, it wouldn't do to think about the cold, it just made it worse.

 

“ _Somewhere, over the Rainbow,”_ it was an old song, he really didn't remember where he had heard it or what exactly a “Rainbow” was. But to Papyrus it made him feel peaceful and safe, so he hoped singing what few bars he could remember, as softly as he could would help his company feel the same way.

“ _Somewhere over the Rainbow,”_

“ _Way up high...”_ Papyrus' eyes began to loose focus as he put all his thoughts towards remembering the song he had heard long ago. _“There's a land that I heard of, once in a lullaby.”_

“ _Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue.”_ Maybe it was a song from before monsters were trapped. He had never really seen a sky, not in person, only in the few VHS tapes Sans had managed to scrounge up from the Dump, and those were all in black and white. _“And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.”_

 

Papyrus looked towards the statue, and felt his heart sink as the child was no longer clinging to its legs. Had the boy moved on? The storm hadn't stopped he could still hear the roar of the wind outside.

He'd just have to hope for the best.

“ _Some day I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me...”_ Papyrus crooned nervously, not daring to move in case the child was nearby still, _“Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll-”_

 

something was touching his fingers! Papyrus turned his head quickly, resulting in him staring directly at the fire child, a half-eaten cinnamon bunny in one hand and a surprised look on his face.

Papyrus smiled.  _“That's where you'll find me.”_ he rolled onto his back in relief. “You can have the rest if you want...” he said spreading his arms out. “Once the storm passes we can go back to Snowdin and...I'll buy you...some more....” 

 

 

The boy  stared at the skeleton who lay flat out on his back. Papyrus had gone awfully quiet all of a sudden. He had just started to enjoy the skeleton's chatter, especially the pretty noise the older boy had started to make. 

Stuffing the cinnamon bun in his mouth the boy crept forward on hands and feet until he was next to the skeleton's face. Then gathering his courage he did the only thing he could think off to get Papyrus' attention.

“Mm!” he grunted and prodded Papyrus in the shoulder with one hand.

 

Nothing happened, the skeleton kept his eyes closed and lay still, his body shaking slightly.

“Mmmm!” He grunted again and prodded Papyrus' arm this time, with a little more force, only to jump back in shock.

 

Papyrus' arm was awfully  warm.  _Wasn't he complaining about the cold earlier?_ The teenager's bones were vibrating a bit, as most monsters he had seen did when they were cold. For lack of a better idea the boy raced for the discarded blanket, carefully dragging the heavy wool back over to the unconscious skeleton and draping it over him. 

 

“Nnn...” Papyrus moaned, curling up into a ball inside the blanket. “...Thanks Sans...” he mumbled and then grew still. 

 

“No!” the boy pulled at the skeleton's shoulder. “Nnn!” he wanted him to wake up! Monsters that lay still turned to dust, he knew that for a fact! He pulled the Cinnamon bun from his mouth and tried to jab it into Papyrus' only to let melted cinnamon and sugar smear across the skeleton's teeth. 

 

“Nnnn _nn_ _mm_ _ake up!_ ” tears, black as cooling magma, welled up in his eyes as he shook Papyrus again, but still nothing happened.

_What do I do?!_ The boy stood up and paced back and forth, ignoring the hissing sounds his tears made as they hit the floor. 

 

“ _Papyrus!”_ everything became so much worse as a voice called out from the entrance to the cavern. 

He needed to go! He needed to  _hide!_

_But what about Papyrus?!_ It was absurd, but a panic had gripped his very SOUL. An unwavering terror that if he left Papyrus, then something terrible would happen. He'd starve or be extinguished by the Cold Wet Stuff outside. 

 

Or  _worse._

“White” would find him.

 

 

“Hey kid.” a voice spoke into his non-existent ear.

The boy froze solid, too scared to move.

 

_“Don't you know how to greet a new pal...?”_

 

Sans would immediately regret using his extra spooky voice as the fire child  collapsed face-first into the dust, loosing consciousness even before anyone had realized what had happened. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans yells at people and Gaster creeps everyone out

Sans was pissed, and everyone in the Snowdin Guardhouse knew it. He was cross with Papyrus for doing something so dangerous without letting him know, he was mad at himself for scaring a child into unconsciousness...

But at this moment his rage was mostly for the Captain of the Royal Guard, who definitely wasn't expecting his arrival when Sans burst into his office.

“You called Gaster, what the hell Caedmon?!”

the Captain was a massive monster, his bright red eyes dimmed slightly as he set aside the greased rag he had been using to polish his right forearm.

“Hello to you too Sans, care for a drink?” he sighed wearily, his tenor pitch and Scottish accent resonating pleasantly in his hollow body. “The king just sent me his latest batch of golden flower tea.” he paused to turn his salvaged office chair towards his skeletal guest, “Ah don't particularly know _why_ he sends it teh me, I don't exactly have a mouth nor digestive tract to drink but-” 

He was cut off as Sans dragged a stumpy wooden chair up to the living armour's desk and sitting down. “What. The. Hell.” he repeated tersely.

Caedmon leaned back in his patched dump-rescue office chair with another exhausted sigh, “Look, Ah know yer not on speakin' terms with Dr. Gaster, but my hands are tied on this.” He said, “Papyrus is still a minor, and by the King's Law any incident involving a minor requires the Guard informing their legal guardian.”

“By that logic you should have dragged me back to the labs by my tailbone all those years ago.”

“Can ye kindly stop with the petty sniping Sans?” Caedmon replied sharply. “We both have better things to do with our time than hash out my past legal judgements and yer issues with yer father.”

“Fair enough,” Sans replied leaning heavily against Caedmon's desk. “I wanted to talk to you about that fire kid.”

“Ye mean the kid yeh managed to scare into unconsciousness?”

 

Sans blushed a bright cyan, “Um, yeah....”

“Heheh. Just paying back yer cheek. Alright what are ye wondering about our little lost spark?” Caedmon's eyes glowed brightly, a visual sign for the smile his rigid metal body was unable to produce.

“Have any clue where this kid's parents might be?”

“No, and believe me, it's not through lack of effort.” Caedmon replied, his eyelights dimming slightly, “Ah've currently got every member of the Hotland Royal Guard doing a door-by-door questioning but so far no one's missing a juvenile Fire Elemental.”

“I doubt anyone's willing to admit they let a kid out into sub-zero temperatures in nothing but a t-shirt and a smile anyway.” Sans snarked dryly.

“Aye, that's the sad truth of the matter.” the living armour nodded sadly, “Tis sure t'break His Majesty's heart, once he gets the report.”

“Welp, getting back onto topic,” Sans replied, “I'd like to foster the kid until you find his parents.”

Caedmon jumped, his whole body rattling from the sudden movement. “What? Sans are yeh joking? It's not funny if yeh are.”

“Serious as a human dropping in for lunch.” Sans replied simply,.

“Laddie, Ah didn't drag you back teh yer father's labs all those years ago because of barest legal loopholes.” he leaned over the desk at pointed at the short skeleton. “Any well-meaning busybody could use this incident to force me to take Papyrus back to his father.”

“But you're not going to.” Sans replied, returning Caedmon's stare with one of his own, unflinching.

Caedmon leaned back. “A' course Ahm not! What sort of daft bugger do you take me for boy?!” he snorted, which sounded more like an engine backfiring than any sound a living being would make. “Ah thirteen year-old genius suddenly drops on meh doorstep with his baby brother in tow demanding sanctuary? Like I'd be foolish to ignore something so suspicious.”

 

C aedmon paused, resting both hands on the rough-cut Snowdin pine desk “Th'fact of the matter is it's clear th'child is a Fire Elemental,” He said said slowly, “Elementals need more things that y'might no t be able to provide fer him. More so ,  failure to look after a clearly neglected child could cast doubt on yer ability t'care for Papyrus.” 

“People can doubt all they want.” Sans replied calmly, “I'm _burning_ for a chance to make sure that fire kid has somewhere safe to stay. Besides Papyrus would probably track him down and bring him home anyway.” 

C aedmon stared at the living skeleton briefly for a moment.

 

“W-what?” Sans' easygoing grin turned a twinge nervous, “Too much? Should I have left that last pun on the back burner _?_ ” 

“Hm.” Caedmon grunted as he opened a drawer in his desk, “It might be better for the boy to stay with familiar faces anyway.” he pulled out a thin file and flipped through the pages. “Ah'll be sending our specialists over later today to assess the situation and advise you on what you may need for the child.”

“Thanks Caedmon I appreciate that.” Sans grinned as he stood up. “I better get back, Papyrus is going to want to hear that's he's got a new little brother.”

“Sans,” the skeleton paused as he stared back at Caedmon. “Ye would have made a brae bonny Guardsman, HP problems or no.” the living armour said, “But yeh choose to open a restaurant instead.”

“Your point?” Sans replied, not bothering to turn back to look at Caedmon.

“If yeh have suspects regarding this Elemental yeh should leave it with the Guards, not go off perusing it on yer own. Yeh have two youngsters t'look after now.”

“...I'll keep that in mind Captain.”

 

 

 

Sans walked out of the Snowdin Royal Guard Garrison, a little less angry and a little more introspective. Despite Caedmon's well-meaning meddling he had a fair point, He had managed to get away Scot-free but Papyrus was still in danger every day until he reached sixteen.

And now, with the fostering of this Elemental Child, that danger had increased a hundredfold!

 _You could have just told Caedmon about the Elemental's 'special trick' you know._ A thought that sounded a little too familiar to Sans' tastes crossed his mind. _That would point them in the right direction._

_Not enough proof._ Sans  argued mentally ,  _Including the Old Man there’s twenty different people at the Royal Conservatory of Science studying absolutely everything from Architectural Engineering to Zoology. There’s nothing to connect the Fire Kid to the Old Man._

He paused at the side of the road, allowing a rabbit couple to have right-of-way.

 _If you told Caedmon now about this kid with the never-before-seen magic, they’d probably drag him back to the Conservatory anyway, and tell everyone it’s “for his own good.” on the way._ he turned in the direction of home and continued to walk, the sound of his feet crunching in the snow acting as an added balm to his bad mood. _You need more evidence buddy, simple as that._

After a few minutes of near-silent walking, save for the crunch of snow underneath his running shoes, Sans could spot his house in the distance, the mist that made the border between Snowdin and Waterfall clinging to it’s sides like a curtain. _You just need more evidence to make sure the Old Man’s out of Papyrus’ and your life forever._ _The fire kid’s the ke_ _y, I’m sure-_

His train of though ground to a screeching halt as he had gotten to his front porch in time for the door to swing open for a monster in a long black coat, their face buried in a leather-bound notebook.

“Oh hell.” the words escaped his mouth before Sans could stop himself.

 

 

 

The other monster paused, the door swinging shut behind them, much to Sans’ relief. “Hello to you as well Sans.” the notebook lowered letting the shorter skeleton to have the first good look at his father in seven years. “I see you still have trouble with slurring your words.” Gaster’s deep bass voice colder than the snow. “It’s amazing it hasn’t gotten you into more trouble.”

Sans smiled grimly, “Hi Dad, how’s tricks?”

“Acceptable.” Gaster replied, closing his notebook with a sharp snap. “Your colleagues at the Conservatory miss you.” he added.

“They’re always welcome at the Bar.” Sans retorted, regretting the edge in his voice almost immediately. “What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have science to do?”

“Captain Caedmon called the Conservatory about Papyrus. I came as soon as I was able.” Gaster said flatly, “Really Sans you should have left a better babysitter for a sick boy than the Captain’s delinquent daughter.”

Sans grin turned into a smirk, “I dunno, I think Undyne makes a pretty good guard-fish.” he replied. “Plus she’s good at keeping unwelcome guests’ visits short.”

There was a slight snapping noise as the Royal Scientist raised a non-existent eyebrow “...Indeed.” Gaster stepped off the porch, looming over the shorter skeleton, his arms held behind his back. It was an old intimidation tactic that Sans was familiar with, using his height and his disturbingly cold attitude to cow his firstborn into obeying him.

“When are you going to stop being such a wilful child Sans?” Gaster asked, “You’re wasting your potential out here in the boonies as a fry-cook when you could be helping solve all of Monster-kind’s greatest problems.”

 

“Oh I’m solving problems alright,” Sans replied, turning his gaze towards the front door of his house. “After all, monsters gotta eat don’t they?”

“Monsters cannot survive on bread alone.” Gaster said.

“They can’t live on empty promises either.” Sans replied simply, climbing onto the porch. “Now, if you’re done questioning my life choices, I have a sick little monster to look after.”

“Of course. Give my regards to Papyrus when he awakens.”

Before Sans could turn and ask Gaster what he had meant, the older monster had vanished, the light scent of ozone hanging in the air.

 

 

 

“There you are!!” Undyne hissed furiously from the top of the stairs. “What took so long Sans?!”

“I got held up traffic.” the skeleton replied, shutting and locking the door behind him. “How long was Gaster here?”

“Way too long!” Undyne replied, taking the stairs two at a time. “Sat with Papyrus and wrote a whole bunch in his notebook. Didn’t even talk to me when I asked him stuff, not even to tell me off.”

“Yeah, colour me unsurprised,” Sans replied dryly, “I swear the Old Man gets some sort of sick thrill out of creeping out any monster he can.” Undyne nodded, an uneasy look in her eyes. “Did Gaster do anything else while he was here?”

Undyne’s answer made Sans’ non-existent stomach drop into his shoes. “Wanted to talk to the Fire Kid, said something about “Thanking him” or whatever.”

“You didn’t leave him alone with the kid did you?!”

Undyne gave Sans a look of disgust. “How stupid do you think I am? I stayed with the Royal Creep-ist until the kid asked me to go.”

“The _kid_ asked you step out?” Sans looked up at his bedroom door.

For lack of any medical facilities in Snowdin, the two unconscious children had been placed in Sans and Papyrus’ home.

Papyrus had, naturally be tucked into his race car bed with a few extra blankets and a cold compress to soothe the terrible fever he had contracted from his adventures. The fire elemental, though the examination had been far too brief for Sans’ tastes, had shown signs of malnutrition and exhaustion, remaining asleep all the way through his hasty medical examination, and had been placed in Sans’ messy bed for lack of anywhere else, with a large candle Sans had managed to dig up for the child’s need to be near fire.

 

“The kid was awake when I went in with Gaster.” Undyne confirmed. “He told me it was okay when I asked him.”

“Did you hear what they were talking about?”

Undyne shook her head. “Kid’s got a soft voice.”

Sans bit back the urge to groan in frustration. “Thanks anyway Undyne. Mind keeping an eye on Papyrus for me for a little while longer?”

“Like I’d leave Papyrus while he’s sick.” Undyne snorted in disgust, “Where are you going now?”

“My room,” Sans replied, ascending the stairs to the second floor, “I’d like to talk to our new housemate.”

 

 

 

Sans felt his heart sink as he opened the door and found the elemental, not resting comfortably in bed, but instead sitting on it in a miserable hunched-up ball, staring at the scattered rubbish on the floor like he expected the papers to jump up and bite him.

“H-hey kid.” The child jumped, staring wide-eyed at Sans, earning him a fresh wave of guilt from the skeleton. “How are you doing? Get enough sleep?”

“I’m...alright.” the boy’s voice was whisper-soft, with a raspiness that reminded Sans very strongly of wood snapping in a fire. “Everything is working at peak efficiency.”

Sans cocked a non-existent eyebrow. “Izzat so?” the boy jumped slightly, but did not reply, choosing to gaze at the half-melted candle sitting on a beat-up old dresser.

 

“Mind if I have a sit?” the child gave no indication that he had heard the skeleton, so for lack of chairs, Sans found a clear bit of floorspace that ran parallel to the bed and settled into a comfortable cross-legged position.

“I’m sorry for what happened in the cave, first of all.” Sans began, and was rewarded with a surprised glance from the fire elemental. “I didn’t mean to scare you, just...” he paused, searching for the right words and came up short. “I guess I wasn’t thinking at the time.”

The child turned his gaze back to the candle, “It was my fault.” be replied with a heartbreaking solemnness.

 

“No, it wasn’t.” Sans replied quickly, “It isn’t okay to have anyone frighten you or make you feel bad.” the skeleton felt the bones in his left hand grind against each other as he balled it into a fist. “I really...” He glanced up at the child and saw the growing apprehension in his solid-white eyes, even though the boy hadn’t moved a muscle, Sans could see in the child’s body language that they were ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.

 

_Calm down Sans. You’re not helping anything._ He forced his hand to unclench. 

“Heh,” He chuckled, “I guess you could say I pulled a major _boner_ back in the caves.” 

It was an instant, masked by a sea of confusion but Sans caught the look he was hoping for. The best shot he had for diffusing such a tense situation.

“I’m not mad or anything kid,” he continued, finding the most relaxed sitting position he could manage without lying flat on his back or stomach, “It’s actually physically impossible for me to get upset, cause nothing can get _under my skin_.” 

the child’s face twitched slightly, the kind of twitch Sans had seen on Papyrus’ face all too often when he didn’t want to admit he found one of his brother’s jokes funny.

“By the way,” Sans grinned a little wider in anticipation. “Glad to see there’s someone who enjoys my Hot Dogs,” he painfully watched the child’s face contort in confusion, but didn’t hesitate “Those little oblong seed-pods Papyrus left out for you all the time. I’d normally leave them for Paps but as of late he doesn’t _have the stomach for it!”_

 

his efforts were rewarded as a tiny giggle bubbled out of the tiny fire elemental,  smothered quietly behind his hands but unmistakable music to his ear holes. 

“That’s more like it.” Sans smiled broadly. “Now, lemme introduce myself. I’m Sans, Sans the skeleton.” 

 

“...Grillby.” the boy murmured.

“Nice t’meetcha. Listen Grillby, I have a proposition.” Sans said simply. “Whatever trouble you’re going through right now, I’d like to help.”

“I-I’m not in trouble...” little Grillby murmured, looking very uncomfortable.

“Sufficed to say, I don’t think living out in some old war memorial in the woods and raiding trash cans for food is any fun is it?” the child shook his head hesitantly. “Well I got this handy spare room.” he motioned to the messy room around them. “And Papyrus really likes you, so how about you stay with us for awhile?” 

“I don’t....” Grillby paused, pulling at his fingers nervously. 

“Go ahead kid, what’s on your mind?”

 

“I don’t have anything to give...in return....”

 

it was a full ten second before Sans burst out laughing.

 

“What? You laughed at my jokes!” He chuckled brightly. “That’s worth at least thirty years of rent already!” Grillby tilted his head in confusion but said nothing. “Seriously though kid, you don’t owe me anything to live here.” Sans told him. “I’d be happy to have you and Papyrus would be on the Surface to have you stay.”

Sans held out a bony hand to the elemental. “So, it’s up to you. Do you wanna stay with me and Papyrus?”

“....Yes.”

 

 

 

_My visit was a complete success. Orange couldn’t believe I had found him. He really should have stayed in Hotland and vanished into the crowd if he truly wanted to escape. Organize further training in guerrilla tactics and camouflage when he returns to the lab._

_Sans was suspicious upon my departure, but I doubt he suspects anything. His hatred of me blinds him. Soon Project Cherubim will able to begin in earnest._

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans gets Advice

Undyne didn’t stay for long after Gaster had left. It had only been thanks to her father’s mercy that she had been allowed to stay and assist. But that was only for one day, which was quickly coming to an end.

The bar was closed. Sans didn’t bother leaving any sort of note or explanation as to why on the front door. Snowdin was a tiny town, secrets were difficult to keep, especially when it involved the town barkeep. Sans hoped at the very least he could keep the local gossip mongers at bay long enough to get this new charge comfortable.

This was a more difficult task than Sans had originally expected. While he fully realized that Grillby was skittish, what he didn’t expect was how sensitive the elemental was. Sans could turn suddenly or knock over a bottle and the Elemental would freeze solid, or bolt for anyplace to hide, usually tripping over his own feet in the process. Sans couldn’t help to be impressed that his hyper-energetic high-volume brother had managed to keep the anxious child calm long enough for Sans and Caedmon to collect them both.

Unsurprised, but impressed. After all his baby brother _was_ the greatest after all.

 

“Are y’really sure you wanna help Grillby?” Sans asked, “Y’might be a little more comfortable sitting with Papyrus for a little bit.” They were currently making Sans’ old room more habitable for Grillby, which mostly consisted of clearing out all the trash that was scattered throughout the room. Most of Sans’ clothes were in the wash, or simply draped around the house, much to Papyrus’ dismay.

“M’okay....” Grillby replied, his gravelly voice whisper-soft as usual as he fiddled with this oversized shirt and shorts. Not as bad as the adult sized t-shirt he had been running around in but Papyrus’ Hand-me-downs were a vast improvement until Sans could go shopping for proper clothes. “...Want to be useful.” He added cautiously.

After a few scares and startles, Grillby had settled on top of the mattress that made up the bed, watching as Sans would putter about the room and stuff whatever random object that fell into his field of vision into a plastic garbage bag. Not exactly ‘useful’ but the young elemental seemed to be a lot calmer in Sans’ presence, so he really had no reason to complain.

What Sans really wanted most was for Grillby to answer some of his questions. Like how he was able to change shape, or why he had been in the forest alone for weeks?

Most importantly, what had Gaster said to him when Undyne had left them both alone?

 

“Hey, Grillby?”

The boy looked up at him with solid white eyes. “Yes sir?”

 

It was Sans’ turn to flinch. “Please don’t call me ‘sir’ kiddo. Makes me feel old.” He stared at the child for a few moments, “...How about we go make some dinner eh?” the skeleton just didn’t have the heart to disturb the tiny flame.

Before Grillby could even form a reply, a sound resembling more of a cannon shot than someone knocking, resulted in the entire room flooded with a wave of heat that felt like he was back in Hotland and light that left him seeing spots.

Sans quickly discovered the cause when the spots cleared. Curled up in a corner, looking less like a walking talking campfire flame and more like an oversized sparkler was Grillby in his cat form. Solid White eyes wide open and unseeing.

“Grillby?” Sans knelt down, “Kid...? Are you-” he cut himself off before he could finish his stupid question. It was clear to anyone with any lick of sense that Grillby was about as far from _‘alright’_ as a monster could get. Sans knew the kid was jumpy in regards to sudden noises, but this was unlike any previous reactions before.

 

It also didn’t help that the monster who had knocked so forcefully hadn’t stopped knocking  since the first strike. While none were as powerful as that first hit,  it was still loud enough to be heard  clearly from the second floor,  with each strike a spark flew off of the tiny elemental. 

“Hold that thought Grillbz,” Sans grinned brightly to the prone fire cat, disguising his annoyance. “I’m going to go answer the door.” 

Sans held back from teleporting, opting instead for a brisk power walk down to the front door, letting his temper simmer at just the right level he used when he wanted to scare the ever-loving crap out of rowdy customers. “Hey y’mind cooling it with the drum solo, we’re kind of prefer smooth jazz to rock n’ roll-”

 

 

“Open the door y’cheeky whippersnapper!” an aged voice bellowed from behind the front door. “It’s too cold for jokes!”

Sans blinked, pausing briefly before he opened the door for a large, ancient turtle monster wearing a pith helmet and furry-looking overcoat. “Gerson?!”

“Wahahahaha! Hello sonny, about time you got that door!” the turtle crowed, stroking a scraggly looking goatee with one hand while carrying a massive grocery bag, nearly the size of Sans himself in the crook of his arm, “Snowdin is just as cold as I remember it to be.” 

“Uh... Wha...?” was all that Sans was able to get out before Gerson shoved the bag into his arms and half-stomped half-limped into the house, kicking snow from his boots.

“A little fishy told me a little about the mischief she and Papyrus got into this weekend,” Gerson proclaimed cheerfully, “including something involving a fire elemental with, and I quote “Super Cool Hero Powers”?”

Sans groaned, enveloping the grocery bag in an aura of blue magic. “It’s a lot more complicated than that Gerson.” he admitted, levitating the bag beside him. “The kid... It’s a really long story.”

“I wouldn’t have walked into this Ice Box willingly for a short story short stuff.” Gerson smirked dryly, “Now, mind satisfying this old man’s curiosity? What’s this about a kid with powers?”

Sans sighed, shoving the bag back into Gerson’s hands. “Mind waiting a bit before I start spilling my guts mister Captain of the Guard?”

“Retired.” Gerson snorted, taking the bag before it tipped over, “Is there a problem?” he asked, a note of concern in his voice as he watched the skeleton climb the stairs.

“Hopefully not anymore since you stopped trying to beat the front door down.” Sans replied, gratified when the old turtle winced sheepishly, “But I’d like not to overwhelm him right at the moment.”

“Ah, gotcha.”

 

 

 

Grillby was still hunched up in the same corner Sans had left him when he had gone downstairs, but the cat’s flames were more settled- Less firecracker and more candlelight sort of fire.

“Hey Grillbz,” Heat came off of the elemental in strong waves, Sans tried to approach but was only rewarded with a sharp spike in the temperature. “Turns out all that banging was this old obnoxious jerk I know.” he squatted down as close as he could to the little elemental without burning himself, gratified with the cat blinked slowly, as if to acknowledge his existence. “I’m going to go downstairs and talk with him a bit. Wanna come?” to his utter surprise the little cat nodded slowly.

“Are you going to stay the way you are now?” Grillby nodded again a little quicker than before, but made no move to stand. “Do you want me to go down ahead?” Grillby nodded a third time.

“Okay, cool...” an idea came to him. “Do you wanna talk to the guy?” the kitten shook his head, confirming Sans’ suspicion. “That’s fine, you can have something to eat while we’re in there, then he won’t bother you.” he pointed to his mouth, “People won’t bother you with your mouth full amirite?”

Grillby’s feline face was full of confusion as he nodded uncertainly. “Trust me it’s an old trick I used to pull when... well nevermind.” Sans scratched the back of his bony head. “Anyway I’ll go on ahead, come down as soon as you’re ready okay? No pressure.” He stood up, and quietly exited the room, pausing on his journey to check on Papyrus.

No change, The younger skeleton was still sleeping soundly, wrapped up in almost every blanket in the house. The doctor assuring Sans that Papyrus just had a bad cold- attributed mostly to his wet clothes when the rescue party had found their cave. Papyrus would be his normal bouncy self in a short while.

Satisfied that everything was as well it could be, Sans returned to the kitchen, “Okay, Grillby just needs a little extra time, but he’ll be down...?” He stopped dead in his tracks just inside the kitchen door.

“Gerson...What the heck?”

 

In the brief amount of time it had taken Sans to check on the boys, Gerson had unpacked a surprising amount of goods from his grocery bag, and was in the middle of cooking... something. Sans wasn’t quite sure what but at that moment the old turtle was in the middle of reducing a large onion into an equally large pile of onion bits.

  
“Figured you might be hungry.” Gerson replied simply, tossing the diced onion into a frying pan, “And that you might want a break after, what... a day of running around?”

“Two, actually.” Sans replied settling into the small breakfast space set aside in the corner of the kitchen. “Plus, the doctor’s visit... and filing the report with the Canine unit... Visiting Caedmon at the Guardhouse...Gaster....” Sans found himself wondering when he last ate. It was one of those habits he had that drove Papyrus batty.

“Oof. My regards on that last one.” Gerson winced sympathetically, grasping a packet of mushrooms he opened them and began the work of cleaning and preparing them for the pan. “Now, how about telling me that long story?”

 

 

So he did. Sans told the old turtle about the mystery that Papyrus had solved through blind stubbornness and many nights of hot dogs. About Sans going out night-after night after closing the restaurant to search for the mysterious fire child behind Papyrus’ back only to find Papyrus going out to do the exact same thing and succeeding where Sans had failed to the cost of the younger brother’s health.

 

“An exciting few days t’be sure.” Gerson said stirring a pot of something heavenly fragrant. “So. Whatcha going to do with the little spark?”

Sans cocked a non-existent eyebrow. “ _Do_?” he intoned, “I don’t quite follow your lead on this Mon Capitanne. What do you expect me to do beyond keep the kid safe and fed right?”

Gerson chuckled darkly. “Don’t piss on my leg and tell me we’re in Waterfall. I remember your case against Gaster.” Sans froze, his eye lights going out. “The child prodigy of the Royal Scientist running up to my Second in Command’s front door, Little brother in hand and shouting that both their lives were in mortal danger?”

Sans didn’t reply leaving only the sound of Gerson’s spoon scraping the bottom of the pot to fill the room.

“I told you the whole story then....” Sans finally broke the silence.

“That you did. I don’t need to dredge up the whole ugly court battle with that old Ghoul of a Royal Scientist, but here you are... and here’s a boy who can somehow do the same things you claimed Gaster was attempting to do with yourself and-”

 

“Just Papyrus!” Sans barked sharply, his hands shaking as he balled them into bony fists. “Glass Canons Aren’t Useful On The Battlefield....” the words rang hollowly as Gerson stumped beside him and laid a careful hand over his shoulders.

“You’re here Sans.” Gerson’s grizzled voice was firm, supportive and yet gentle. In a way it reminded Sans of the Redwood trees that surrounded Snowdin. “Your safe and So is Papyrus. You got away.”

Sans quietly nodded, resting a hand on the hand of the old turtle.

 

“Um...?”

 

The pair looked up to see the fire elemental clinging nervously to the doorway looking ready to flee at any given second. “I-Is th...um...”

“Oh hey kid,” Sans stood up quickly, “Don’t worry about this guy, he’s the old jerk I was telling you about upstairs.” he said jovially jerking a thumb in Gerson’s direction. “Hey Gerson meet the new Housemate Grillby.”

“Howdy Grillby.” Gerson said with a dip of his pith helmet. The elemental started blankly back at the old turtle and said nothing clinging to the doorway like his life depended on it.

“Hey, uh Gerson how about giving Grillby a taste of your food?” Sans grinned nervously at the old turtle, who quickly got the message and stepped back towards the stove. “You’ll love this kid I learned everything about food from this guy.”

“And yet you still eat Typhus pods like they’re going out of fashion.” Gerson snorted back as he gathered up three plates from their resting place in the kitchen’s drying rack. “I hope you’re giving him something else.”

“Mr. Papyrus gave me Cinnamon Bunnies...” Grillby said, his whisper voice sinking into a mumble as he looked away.

 

Gerson laughed, a quieter version of his normal booming belly-laugh. “Wahahaha, is that so? Do you like Papyrus?” He asked the question of Grillby but continued staring at the pot as he juggled the plates with a deftness that defied his age as he poured out a rice-like noodle with a creamy sauce.

“....He’s very strong.” Grillby replied simply, staring at the plates with an intensity Sans only saw from the Canine Unit when they came to the restaurant. “They’re both very strong.”

“Is that why you agreed to stay with Sans? Because he’s strong?” Grillby responded to Gerson’s question with a nod, trying very hard not to look the turtle in the face.

Sans wasn’t sure why Grillby was trying so hard not to look at Gerson, when Sans was able to maintain eye contact with the young elemental almost right from the start.

If it bothered the old turtle, he gave no sign as he stepped up to the table and set two plates down “Well dig in, youngsters. Here’s to brighter tomorrows.”

 

Grillby stared at his plate then looked over at the mushroom risotto next to Sans. “Ummm...?”

Sans cocked a non-existent eyebrow “What’s wrong kid?” he asked, “Something on your mind?”

Grillby jolted in surprise.... then proceeded to cram the dish into his mouth by the handful, the mild scent of burning cream and mushroom wafting through the air as he completely disregarded the temperature of the dish.

“Uh, Grillby there are things known as _spoons_ yanno...?” he said picking up his own spoon as an example. Grillby’s only response was to pick up the spoon and continue shovelling in food just as fast as he swallowed it down.

“ _People don’t bother you with your mouth full,” Stupid._ the little voice in the back of Sans’ brain reminded him. He resisted the urge to facepalm as he set the utensil down. “ Slow down will you kid? There’s plenty of seconds.”

This statement actually caused the manic shovelling to stop as Grillby looked to Sans in wide-eyed surprise. “Murrr?” he asked his cheeks bulging with Mushroom risotto.

“Yeah, in fact-” Sans’ plate glowed with an aura of blue light as it hovered over to Grillby’s plate and dumped a healthy portion of its contents onto it. “I’m not as hungry as I thought I was. You can have some of mine.”

 

“Sans? Mind if we chat in the living room for a bit?” Gerson spoke up gently, having moved to the door in the brief time Sans had conversed with the little elemental. 

“Sure thing.” Sans set his plate down close enough that Grillby could reach for it, but far enough to not make it look like he was essentially giving the befuddled elemental his whole dinner. “You know where to find me if you need me Grillby.” Sans assured him before stepping out.

 

“Here.” Gerson pressed the box into his hands before Sans had a chance to form a question. “They’ll be useful, just in case.” 

Sans carefully opened the box to reveal a dozen or so metal rectangles, each the size of a domino each with a golden yellow gemstone set into the center of it.

“What the heck are these?” Sans asked, holding up one rectangle, rewarded with the image of a blazing fire shining from inside the stone depending on how the light caught it.

 

“Magic Suppressors.” Gerson replied gruffly, “Fire Magic Suppressors.” 

Sans nearly dropped the box. “Gerson what the hell?!”  he hissed, hoping that his long term house guest hadn’t heard the old turtle’ s statement .

“Don’t let the bogey stories from the Big War scare you Sans, they’re not as bad as all that.” Gerson assured, his leathery face unchanging. “Any monster could overpower one of these with one good shot, but these should keep ambient fire magic down.”

“And how is an already squirrelly kid going to feel when he finds out I’ve got a _box_ of these damn things?!” Sans retorted sharply. “ He barely trusts me as it is!” 

“Probably _relieved_ , if I’m a betting Monster.” Gerson replied peering briefly over Sans’ shoulder towards the kitchen. “Most people forget, but short of Boss Monsters, Elementals are one of the most dangerous monsters in the Underground.” 

 

“This isn’t a very funny joke Gerson,” Sans said, “I mean yeah the kid’s got an itchy trigger finger when he’s scared but-” 

“Sans I saw his LVL.” Gerson interrupted. “I checked it when I gave you both food.” 

S ans froze. He had always meant to check the boy’s level of violence but a part of him didn’t want to know. “How high?” 

 

“Not as high as my own, or any Veteran’s but... far too high for a child to wield.” Gerson said. “Elementals are very disciplined but their power tends to go off-kilter when emotionally...” the old turtle paused to search for the words, “... emotionally distressed.” He finally settled.

“I’ve seen Elementals whip up storms or flood whole villages just from grief or anger. If I’m right, Grillby’s got enough power to burn all of Snowdin and half of Waterfall to ash,” Gerson said firmly, “N’just by going by his behaviour in the kitchen and what you told me, I think he may already know that.” 

 

“You think he’s still scared of me?” Sans asked.

“I think the poor boy’s scared to death of _himself.”_ Gerson insisted.

S ans thought about that. “So what should I do? Tell the kid to stop feeling so much?” He asked sarcastically. 

Gerson groaned, “Dammit Sans I said no such thing! All the suppressors are for is to protect you, Papyrus and any other monster in case Grillby looses his grip on his self control.” he said tersely

 

“You think it’s bound to happen?” 

“I’m surprised it hasn’t happened already, to be perfectly honest.” Gerson sighed sadly, “It’s probably only a matter of time.” 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn things about Grillby and Papyrus continues to be awesome

a piercing buzz startled Orange awake, causing his flames to flicker wildly before he could regulate his breathing into something resembling normal. Not for the last time he wished he wasn’t such a heavy sleeper but he doubted it would help, especially if White considered doing something other than playing a loud noise at random intervals.

“All agents, assemble in Main Room in ten minutes.” White’s voice came through the hidden speakers with such intensity that made it sound like the monster was in the room with the tiny fire Elemental. Of course he wasn’t though, the room was only large enough for Orange in his “Feline” form as White called it, and even then he had to crawl along on his belly to get through the small iron door that vanished into the wall when it was open.

 

“About time runt.” Blue was already there, the brawny older flame standing in a corner looking fairly broody and mean-spirited as usual. “Was sure you’d get us inta trouble with White again.”

There were others in the room besides the Blue flame, at least four other flames, like them, all different colours and all striving very hard to ignore the obvious confrontation between the youngest of their number and the strongest.

Orange did his best to be as non-confrontational as he could be, hunching up into a ball and keeping his eyes averted from Blue’s angry gaze. “I dun even know why White puts up with you anyway, he should have ground you down for EXP months ago-” 

“That’s enough Blue!” a bright yellow flame, almost as big as the burly bully stepped between Orange and Blue.

“Out of my way Yellow! I’m going to raise my LOVE like White wants us to do!”   
  
“Not at the expense of our own!” Yellow snarled back, his “mouth” exposed, fangs of yellow flame bared at his peer. “We need to look out for each other, remember?”

 

“That was before-” Blue was cut off as the large door slid open and in stepped White, his skinny frame ramrod-straight, white lights ghosting along the youngsters as they rushed to form neat rows in bipedal form, as they had long ago been instructed to do.   
  
“Very good. All present and accounted for.” White stated to no one in particular as he peered from one child to the other, marking something down on a notepad he carried with him. “the rate of your progression for EXP is down overall.” Orange flinched as he glanced at the others out of the corner of his eye. Red looked defeated, Indigo was obviously terrified, Green and Violet were holding back lava-like tears while they reached out to each other desperately for comfort but unable to break White’s rules for “attention” which mostly consisted of staying very still and looking at him while he talked. Blue and Yellow were probably the worst off with the former looking murderously angry as one hand dug into his arm while Yellow looked...empty.

“While this was expected, considering you’ve been grinding out EXP from specially-bred surface animals, you’ve plateaued far sooner than I’ve expected.” it sounded like what White was saying was something positive, the gleam in his eye was unmistakably angry. “I shall be altering your training program to compensate for this failure in growth.” he pointed a long narrow finger at Orange.

_No no no nononono..._ a welling terror sent him breaking formation, he didn’t know where he could run but anything was better than what White was going to do. 

 

_DING!_ Orange felt his bare feet lift off the floor. “Come with me Orange.” White commanded as he hoisted Grillby in his powerful magic.   
  
“No! Please I don’t wanna!” Grillby thrashed, his flames spouting off like minature solar flares. “Help me Yellow! I don’t wanna  b urn anymore!”  
  
But Yellow wasn’t there. None of them were, just Six piles of Ashy soot in a rapidly darkening room until Grillby couldn’t see them anymore.   
  
“ Enough of this ridiculous  behaviour Orange.” White scolded pulling him further into the dark. “You are a fire elemental, burning is how you exist in this world.”  a dim orange cut a door out of the void, “ It’s time you used that existence to actually benefit Monsterkind for once.” 

White reached out and opened the door. “Now go out there and grind out some EXP.” he proclaimed before throwing Grillby into the writhing, screaming maw of hell.

 

 

“I gotcha kid.”

 

Grillby jolted awake in time to watch a glob of half-melted metal get thrown out the open window in a field of blue magic. The heat of the room was so intense that Grillby was barely able to feel the familiar chill of Snowdin’s “Night” cycle. He was amazed that Sans was able to remain so composed in the intense heat.

“Feel like talking about it?” Sans asked, closing the window. Somehow the short skeleton always knew when Grillby was having nightmares. He never said anything about the nightmares, only asked if the flame elemental wanted to talk about it.

He never wanted to talk about it. “No...” Grillby mumbled.   
  
“Want me to stay?” Sans asked pulling a new Fire Talisman from a pocket, hanging it once more from a small nail on the wall. Once Sans had sat down and explained the purpose of the little metal plates Grillby had felt utterly relieved to have them. Actually he had wanted to put up more than one but Sans told him that they had to make them last, since they were difficult to make.

“...” Grillby hugged his pillow and tried very hard to avoid Sans’ gaze. This was the third time tonight he had melted a talisman.

 

“Just let me know kid. I’ll be right outside.”

 

 

 

“Sans this cannae go on!” Caedmon barked.

“Says the monster with the highest Home-repair bill in Waterfall.” Sans yawned as he poured himself something strong from the bar into a shot glass. “How’s Undyne’s cooking lessons by the way?”

“That’s different and ye know it ye bony bugger!” Caedmon growled from his stool at the bar. “You’re barely getting enough rest standin’ sentry and the Boy’s managing to blow out nearly half a dozen talismans a night. Ye need to do something!”   
  
“I am doing something.” Sans replied before throwing the glass back and downing the beverage in one solid gulp. “I’m making sure the kid’s safe and getting a full night’s sleep without worrying that the Fire Elemental’s version of wetting the bed doesn’t burn the house down.”

“The kid still won’t say what’s givin’ him terrors is he?”   
  
“Nope. And I know he’s uncomfortable sleeping on the bed.” Sans sighed, “Or maybe he’s just uncomfortable sleeping with me there but it’s way too risky in case a talisman blows out.”

  
“Can’t ye ‘read’ him like all yer other clientele?” Caedmon asked dryly.

“I’m not freaking telepathic Ironbutt.” Sans replied equally as dry, “My shtick is just good observation and really good intuition.”   


“Really now? Just that?” Caedmon leaned forward. “Okay then can you gue-”

Before the living armour could finish his sentence Sans had a shot glass full of the same liquid he had just drank himself.   
  
“It’s harder with some but....” Sans grin grew to Cheshire levels without moving an inch.

 

“Oh shush.” Caedmon said with disgust.  
  
  
  
______

 

“What do you want to do today Grillby?”   
  
the elemental stared at Papyrus like he was cracked. “I...don’t understand?”   
  
Since he had recovered enough from his illness to get out of bed, Papyrus had dedicated himself to the care of their new housemate with all the gusto he put into pretty much anything he did. Papyrus was to be a great hero after all! You couldn’t be a great anything without putting everything into it!   
  
The only problem was that Grillby appeared to be just about uncomfortable with _everything_. Sans suggested that something had happened to Grillby that was so terrible that it made the little elemental frightened of the world- Which meant it was up to Papyrus to show Grillby that the world was _wonderful!_  
  
“Come now Grillby!” Papyrus crowed, pointing at Grillby. “There must be something you like to do, that makes you feel happy?”   
  
the little elemental shrunk back and looked away from the finger. “Y-y’ello hided with me a lot. That was nice.”   
  
“Nyeh?” this was new information. “Who is this Yello monster?” Papyrus asked curiously, turning his head to look Grillby in the eye. The elemental only responded by squeezing his eyes shut, looking more like a tiny pillar  with clothes on a kitchen chair instead of s child. It was clear that this was one of those things Sans told him about. A bad thing that Grillby didn't want to talk about.   
  
_Fair enough,_ Papyrus concluded. He would simply have to work with the information given.  
  
“So you enjoy hiding then? Well I don’t know if there are very many places to hide in this house...” he looked around. “But let it never be said that the Great Hero Papyrus let a challenge best him!”  and before Grillby could ask the skeleton dashed out of the kitchen with a cackle of glee.   
  
Grillby carefully slipped off the chair to follow Papyrus only for the Skeleton to burst into the room with a handful of small objects. “While the Great Hero Papyrus is constructing your fun for today, he thought that you might enjoy the use of his Battle Strategy models. Feel free to call on the Great Hero should you need him for anything!” the teenage skeleton unceremoniously dumped the items onto the table before once more dashing into the living room.

 

The items were, in fact little male and female monsters, mostly dressed in fancy armour and holding fancy weapons. Most appeared like animals, others appeared to look like random items. There was even a turtle-monster that reminded Grillby of the old Turtle that had visited them awhile ago.

Then at the bottom of the pile, he spotted it. A bright yellow doll shaped like Grillby in green armour, grinning fearlessly, their mouth fully exposed to the world.

 

Grillby stared....

 

“ _You have to Orange...” he gasped, lava leaking from blackened wounds as he held the sword to his chest._  
  
  


Grillby dropped the doll, kicking at it and sending it skittering across the kitchen floor.  Gasping and panting he held out his hands, watching as tiny licks of flame expelled off his body,  the heat of the room rising.   


_No No nononono..._ he tried to calm down, to get his fire to calm, but nothing was working!  _He was going to burn down the house and kill everyone and then White would be mad at him and-_

 

“Here you are.” A fire talisman was pressed into Grillby’s hands and with it a force seemed to press his flames down until they were back to their normal consistency.   
  
“Feel better now?” Papyrus asked kneeling to look the elemental straight in the face.

The tears began to well up into Grillby’s solid white eyes. “Sorry...” he murmured fiddling with the little metal disk in his hands.   
  
“Do you need anything else?” Papyrus asked, his voice suprisingly soft. “It’s okay to tell me, It’s a Great Hero’s job to help people in distress!”   
  
Grillby blinked and wiped at his face. “... Wuz a Hee-row?” He mumbled.   
  
“Want me to show you?” Papyrus asked holding out a hand.   
  
  
____

 

“I’m home.” Sans called out... to find Papyrus sitting cross-legged on the couch with a large pile of comic books stacked next to him.   
  
“Hello brother!” Papyrus called out cheerfully. “Grillby asked an important question, so I have been reading him all the finest quality examples of Heroism I have collected from the Trash!”   
  
Sans quirked a brow. “Izzat so? Where is the little dude?”   
  
Papyrus tilted his head. “Grillby? Please ring once if you would like Sans to know where you are, twice if you do not.”   
  
_**Ding**_

 

before Sans could ask, Papyrus hopped off the sofa and motioned quietly to Sans before moving towards the back of the sofa.  
  
Sans followed his brother’s silent instructions only noticing the throw blanket that had been ever-so carefully poised to make a little tent in-behind the sofa, under that tent was a nest of blankets and pillows scoured from every inch of the house with currently housed a ball of fiery fuzz curled around a small silver call bell.   
  
“The Great Hero Papyrus has been training his new sidekick on the important lore of Heroism!” Papyrus declared primly. “Grillby and I have been going over lore while he makes his secret hideout extra comfy!” Grillby in his feline form peeked over a pillow to look up at the elder skeleton.  
  
Sans grinned. Once again Papyrus to the rescue, it was obvious that Grillby was the most relaxed he had ever been since entering the house. “I’ll have to commission you Papyrus. It looks super comfortable in there. I might need one.”   
  
“It’s for Heroes only Sans! Nyeh heh heh!” despite his protest Papyrus chuckled in pride. 

“Riiight. I bet there’s a few around the house I don’t know about too?”   
  
“Well there was going to be more...” Papyrus replied sheepishly, “But good Heroes need lots of rest to be at their best when they are needed!”

 

“Well no rush, You’ll be only _one ring away_ it seems!”   
  
Papyrus groaned.   
  
  
It was later that night that Sans personally added the curtains and extra blankets and pillows to Grillby’s bed. The little elemental managed to sleep fairly soundly...   
  
But Sans had to teleknetically pull a Fire-tailsman from it’s hook on the wall to keep the cherry-red metal from scortching the drywall.   
  
“Baby steps.” he murmured over the hiss of melting snow on the windowsill.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans has Words, Grillby Honks, and the Author attempts to give her Readers Diabetes :P

It was the next morning when Grillby heard the worst news he could possibly hear from Papyrus.

 

“I’m sorry Grillby, I afraid I cannot join you with training today.” Papyrus said at breakfast time. “I have to go to school!”   
  
Grillby looked up from his Dinosaur Oatmeal with an expression of dismay and confusion. It was lucky that Papyrus was quickly getting the hang of Grillby’s preference for non-verbal communication.   
  
“Hm. School is... School is a large building... Where lots of monsters gather to become better!” He declared proudly.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that Paps.” Sans called from his place by the kitchen counter, quietly sipping a cup of something very bitter-smelling. “It’s long and you have to sit still for a long amount of time and listen to someone talk for hours.”   
  
“Hnnnnn?!” despite an increase of talking, Grillby still either had a great deal of difficulty using his voice or simply preferred not to. Despite this Papyrus had quickly picked up on the little elemental’s small noises and non-verbal cues.

“Don’t worry Grillby, it’s not as bad as Sans is making out!” Papyrus assured the alarmed little elemental, “While we do have to sit and listen to the teachers for some time, it is only so that they can direct us in fun and exciting activities!”  
  
“You’re not...goin away forever are you?” Grillby asked.   
  
“Oh no! I’ll be back by this afternoon. I can’t leave you two alone now can I?” the little elemental seemed to be relieved to hear the news. “In the meantime you can play with Sans!”   
  


It was subtle but neither skeleton missed it. Grillby’s body tensed slightly before he turned his attention back to the oatmeal which he spooned up the kind of false enthusiasm stage actors used.   
  
Papyrus looked to his brother with his own dismay-laden expression. He had bonded well with the little elemental but it seemed that since Grillby’s discovery and Papyrus’ illness the two hadn’t really bonded at all. Sans would help as best he could and Grillby was polite and obedient to the elder monster but beyond that there was no connection between the two.

How could the Great Hero Papyrus leave his Best Brother and his new sidekick in the throes of social awkwardness?!   
  
  
“Don’t worry about us two bro.” Sans said setting his coffee mug aside. “I’ll bet you by bedtime your burning buddy and big bro will be best of buddies.”   
  
Papyrus groaned, holding back the urge to facepalm. “It’s bad enough you _pun_ so often Sans but now _Alliteration!?_ ” 

“Got to keep my humour fresh, if my puns went stale that would be just _Breadful._ ”   
  
“SANS NO!” Papyrus moaned, unable to stop himself from burying his face into his bony hands. Between his carpals though he watched Grillby smile as he shovelled oatmeal into his furnace-like mouth. It was a mixed blessing that the little elemental seemed fond of his older brother’s atrocious sense of humour... 

 

... But it was a chance the Great Papyrus would be foolhardy to pass up!   
  
“Very well.” the young skeleton said getting up from his seat at the breakfast table. “If you can promise to keep your usual shenanigans at a minimum Sans, then I can entrust my sidekick to your care for the day.”   
  
Sans grinned. “You’ve got absolutely nothing to worry about Paps, by the time you’re back we’ll be best of friends!”   
  
This time Papyrus missed the odd look in his brother’s eye, and the apprehensive way Grillby sunk into his chair. 

 

 

 

It was after Papyrus had left for school when Grillby’s fears became reality.

The short skeleton settled down on the sofa and simply did  _ nothing. _ But in that nothing was something that unsettled the little elemental greatly. He knew the short skeleton wanted something of him. White had specifically warned Grillby not to do anything to rouse Sans’ suspicions. 

Fat lot of good that warning did him. It felt like Sans was  _ always _ suspicious of him, even if he never said anything.   
  
“You don’t have to wait for orders there kiddo.” Sans spoke up. “This ain’t like the Labs.” 

Grillby felt his SOUL freeze. “Y-y-you-?!”   
  
“Know about that? Yeah it’s kind of obvious.” Sans closed his eyes. “Don’t worry kid I’m not going to throw you out into the snow, I’m not like the old man.”   
  
the little elemental wheezed, the heat of the room rising a few degrees  before his legs buckled out from under him,  leaving him sitting in the middle of the floo r and began to cry quietly. 

 

“Kid...?” Sans stood up.  He was used to kids crying, heck Papyrus wore his emotions on his sleeve, but that had also come with a bit of noise- a big “Nyoo Hoo Hoo” when he was open about it and barely contained snuffling and snorting when he was trying to be quiet .  Grillby however didn’t make a sound as the black tears rolled down his face. “ Kid, you’re not in trouble.” 

Grillby shook his head as he continued to weep in total silence,  only reacting when Sans moved to sit beside him in an effort to comfort him.   
  
_ **“NO!”** _ the little elemental shrieked, the temperature of the room briefly skyrocketing as he skittered away on hands and knees- when he shifted into his cat form, tail puffed up and eyes wide in fright  before running behind the couch.   
  
Sans sighed in disgust. He probably broke every rule in the book with how he handled that situation. “  Grillby.... Two rings if I can sit on the couch. One if you’re more comfortable that I don’t.”   
  
.... _ Ding.  _

 

Sans used his magic to call a pillow over to his side so he could at least sit reasonably comfortable on the floor.    
  
“ Grillby.... are you afraid of me touching you?” Sans asked. “One for no, two for yes.”  
  
_ Ding....Ding. _   
  
“Thought so.” Sans concluded. “Are you afraid of me hurting you? One for no, two for yes.”   
  
Silence was Grillby’s only response, and Sans didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

“Okay, new question then.”  Sans continued, running a hand over his skull, “Are you afraid of Papyrus hurting you? Same as before.”   
  
_ DING!  _

“Heh, yeah Papyrus is too cool for that sort of thing.” Sans said with relief, “But you don’t touch him either. Are you afraid of hurting Papyrus?  One no, two yes. ”   
  
_ Ding ding. _   
  
Sans nodded quietly. “Okay then.”  that was going to require some thought, and more research into how fire elementals worked, before he was going to be able to undo that pretty little mess of mental trauma.  But he would need more information before he could do more.

 

“Did you ever live with grown-up fire elementals, before Papyrus find you? One no, two yes.”   
  
__...Ding.  
  
I thought as much. Sans nodded, folding his arms across his chest. “Did you live in a place like this house before you were living in the woods?” a single ring called out,  timid but still clear.  
  
“Were you told not to touch anything in the old place you lived in?” Two hesitant rings followed. It explained a lot.   
  
“You’re doing a great job there kiddo.” Sans said encouragingly. “Were you punished if you touched anything you weren’t supposed to?” he knew the answer but had to wait a full minute before he got the two rings of the bell he was looking for.   
  


“Okay kiddo. You sound kinda stressed, but I need to ask you one last question.” he  pushed himself off the floor. “Two rings yes, one ring no. Would you.....Like Hot Cats for lunch?”   
  


 

... _ Ding ding? _ Sans chuckled, he could hear the confusion of the ringer in the bell’s tone,  a difficult feat.    
  
“A Hot Cat for the hot cat, coming right up.” he declared  heading off for the kitchen.  
  
  
Ignoring the sound of rustling blankets from the living room Sans went to work pulling out p ots and pans from the cupboards, and various ingredients from the pantry and the refrigerator.  Only pausing to look up randomly at one corner of the ceiling.   
“You’re in your special spot there Grillby?” the small honk of a horn was Sans’ reply.   
  
Sans had to curb Papyrus’ gusto for building hiding places throughout the whole house, by establishing a few ground rules. A fire talisman had to be in each hiding place in order to keep it from essentially being a pile of kindling during one of Grillby’s panic attacks. Each location was away from cables, cleaning supplies and cutting equipment, and most importantly each hiding spot had a noise making item so Grillby could call for help if he was in trouble.   
  
Sans had suggested filling every hiding spot with whoopee cushions  but that had been swiftly rejected. He didn’t mind though,  Grillby was at least comfortable enough that Sans no longer had to stay up night after night replacing talismans that were so overloaded that they melted.    
  
That was to say that precautions were not in place in case they  _ did _ happen to melt, but at the very least Caedmon wouldn’t nag about his sleeping habits next time he came by to visit  the restaurant. 

 

_I don’t drink or eat anything my boney butt, you glutton._ Sans thought dryly as he filled up a pot of water. _You eat like you have a hollow leg- Oh WAIT._  


A few short clicks of the lighter and a burst of blue flame came to life for Sans  as he placed a pot of water on the burner to boil- and felt a tiny tug on his coat in the process. 

Sure enough there was Grillby, back in child form staring at him in tear-stained awe. “Yer not afraid of it?” he mumbled pointing to the circle of flames working to heat up their food.   
  
“The fire?”  


Grillby nodded, pulling away to wipe his face. “Fire burns stuff and hurts monsters. Doesn’t that make it really scary?”   
  
Sans doubted the child wasn’t just simply talking about the little fire heating up their hot dog water. “Fire only burns stuff and hurts monsters when people _want_ it to do just that.” he said after giving it a moment of thought. “Fire magic, heck magic _in general_ is just a tool we monsters can use, and it’s up to the monster holding the tools what they decide to do with it.”   
  


Grillby didn’t look particularly convinced, but Sans knew it would take more than just one speech to calm the anxious little monster. Instead he settled into quietly making their meal while the little elemental watched, fascinated by what Sans was able to do until the skeleton pulled out the boiled pods out and with a few deft flicks, drew a cat face and stripey body on the hot dog with condiment sauce.   
  
“Heh, One hot cat, ready to go.” Sans said carrying the kid’s meal to their tiny kitchen table so that he could eat it properly, only to see Grillby following with the second hot dog, carried by the child, to set it down at the other empty seat.

 

“... You sure kid?” Sans asked.   
  
Grillby nodded and pointed at the water sausage he had brought to the table, which had been dressed in a similar manner to how Sans had made Grillby’s hot cat. Childishly and just a bit messy, but it was clear that the elemental had made an effort to copy Sans’ work.

 

“Got it looking this good on your first try eh?” Sans said sitting down before the sausage. “Good job kiddo, but next time how about you ask, just for my peace of mind.” outward he remained calm but inwardly? Sans was gasping in relief that he hadn’t used a knife to cut out cat-ears into the hot dogs like he usually would do. He would have to remember that Grillby’s problem with talking also branched into an independent streak that could be harmful if no one gave him proper guidance beforehand.

 

 

Then Sans got an idea.

 

“So Grillby,” Sans said slowly. “Do you like cooking?”   
  
the little elemental blinked in surprise, the hot cat half-sticking out of his mouth. “Not many people tend to ask what you like huh?” Sans said in wry amusement. “Well, do you?”

Grillby nodded before stuffing the rest of the hot cat into his mouth.   
  
“Well then, would you like to learn how?”   
  
  
the little elemental blinked twice... then beamed so brightly that his entire body shone with jubilation as he nodded furiously.

 

 

It was worth Papyrus’ screech of frustration when he came home to a mess-covered kitchen after school.


End file.
